Posted on Sep 17, 2020 at 4:32 PMUpdated Sep 17, 2020 at 4:43 PM
The Italian scenario begins again. In early 2013, Bridgestone announced the closure of its Bari plant specializing in tires for entry-level cars within less than a year. He pointed to the stagnation of the European automobile market and competition from cheap productions from emerging Asian countries, such as China and India. Immediately, the unions and the Italian government mobilized to prevent the shutdown of the site and the dismissal of 950 people. Seven months later, at the end of an intense standoff, the Japanese group agreed to maintain the factory with 60% of its workforce.
Any resemblance to the announcement on Wednesday of the closure of the Béthune plant (Pas-de-Calais) is fortuitous. In France too, employees and politicians jumped , and the controversy has only just begun. “The group has always had trouble in Europe where there is a lot of overcapacity and where there are large producers very well established, such as Michelin, Pirelli or Continental”, explains, in Tokyo, an expert in the sector.
Michelin’s great rival
The Japanese giant, which controls 15% of the global tire market and disputes to Michelin its place of leader , still has a dozen factories on the Old Continent, but now concentrates its investments in Asia and America, where demand is more robust.
Struck in recent months, like its competitors, by the covid-19 crisis which has paralyzed the automotive industry, the company has indicated that it will have to reduce its expenses and rationalize its production in many countries. In July, Shuichi Ishibashi, the new CEO of the equipment manufacturer, had suggested that factories were going to be closed or cut off part of their capacities. “This Covid-19 crisis is much more serious than the one that followed the Lehman shock” in 2008, he confided last month to analysts. “Everyone is affected”.
Profit at half mast
In the first half of the year, Bridgestone, which had to shut down several factories in Europe and the United States, saw its turnover fall by 22% and its operating profit plunge by 87%. “Even if we can see signs of recovery since June, the market is still unpredictable”, explained, in August, the financial management. For the moment, it refuses to estimate the impact of the health and economic crisis on its profits or losses over the entire fiscal year. “Like Michelin, they can overcome crises because they are in all segments and everywhere in the world, but adjustments are necessary”, summarizes the expert.
To negotiate the future of the Béthune plant, the group should entrust the negotiations to European executives. Their Japanese colleagues are not culturally prepared for this kind of social conflict. In Japan, site closures are going more smoothly. With unemployment at 2.5% and severe labor shortages, engineers, skilled workers and other technical staff were quickly recruited elsewhere.
“When we closed our Ota plant in 2010, everything went smoothly,” recalls a Michelin executive, who has since focused on sales and research activities in the archipelago. and development. “We calmly explained the situation to local elected officials, unions and the Ministry of Industry. They understood, he says. For Bridgestone in France, it may be more complicated ”.