Dundee workers finding new jobs

300 staff leave for ‘positive destinations’ but hundreds are still facing redundancy

Michelin Dundee workers are finding alternative employment faster than anticipated – but hundreds of people still face being made redundant when tyre production ends in June next year.

Since the closure announcement in November, Michelin has invested millions of pounds into training its 845-strong workforce to maximise their chances of finding other opportunities.

So far more than 300 staff have left the company to “positive destinations”.

Workers who leave to take other jobs still receive their full redundancy package, which is based on 2020 wage levels.

Meanwhile tyre production is being run down in line with the staff available.

The closure plan was developed with Michelin and Unite the union, which was supported by all the workers.

Michelin factory manager John Reid describes the run down of tyre production in Dundee as the most important 18 months of his career.

“Our mission statement for the closure of the factory is everyone finds a solution,” he said.

“What would be really efficient from a company’s point of view is that every quarter we are going to have a quarter of the workforce out of the door.

“The issue with that is that people would be forced out before they found a job or we’ll be holding on to them too long.”

Initially Mr Reid estimated 25 employees would leave each month with, potentially, around 300 staff still on site next June.

Ten months into the process, around 330 staff have left, which is three months ahead of projections.

“We are not being complacent – we need to find more opportunities and go faster,” said Mr Reid.

“We haven’t re-forecast deliberately because you can have good months and bad months.

“There’s no getting away from the fact that this is a bad situation but we are trying to make it as positive as possible.”

The site has a dedicated career centre, where jobs are posted and people can receive one-to-one sessions on writing CVs and be coached for interviews.

Several employment fairs have been held at Michelin and a member of staff has been employed solely to find job opportunities.

Each worker has a personal training budget at an average of £3,000 and Michelin will pay them for three weeks while they complete the courses.

They have also made a relocation package of £15,000 available to staff who find opportunities outwith the Dundee area.

Mr Reid said Michelin was “absolutely devastated” to have to close the Dundee factory, adding: “The situation we are in is absolutely nothing to do with the performance of people on the site.

“We’ve worked with the company to help understand what the challenges are and what we need to do to get the best outcome. From day one they have wanted to know what they can do to make it better.”

The support to train workers and help to find jobs will last a year after tyre production ends.