Premature closure at Michelin Dundee due to Covid 

Dundee, UK - Michelin Group’s tire production plant in Dundee has come to a premature closure due to Covid-19.

The French tire maker will not restart manufacturing at the plant when Covid-19 lock down restrictions are lifted, Michelin said in a statement provided to ERJ.

Michelin had initially planned to halt production until 13 April, expecting to restart manufacturing until the factory’s eventual closure in June.

But resuming production will be “unviable and unwise” due to the growing challenges caused by the Covid-19, Michelin added.

The decision has been taken in agreement with the Unite union and all employees will continue to be paid at their normal rate until the end of June.

According to Michelin, output was already “extremely low” when the machines were turned off on 23 March. 

Michelin announced in November 2018 that it was closing down the Dundee plant by the end of 2020.

The site, which opened in 1971, manufactures only 16-inch and smaller tires for passenger cars, whose market has faced serious difficulties in recent years.