Michelin factory workers burnt tyres in western France on Tuesday and vowed to stage a strike after the tyre company said it would close two plants by early 2026 over collapsing sales.
Michelin said the decision to close down the plants in Cholet and Vannes in western France, which together employ more than 1,250 people, had been made "as a last resort."
In another sign of struggles in the European auto industry, German parts maker Schaeffler announced that it would cut 4,700 jobs in Europe.
European car sales have fallen at home and in key market China as demand for electric vehicles has fallen and competition from Chinese manufacturers has grown.
Michelin, which employs almost 19,000 people in France, said the plant closure had become "unavoidable" due to competition from Asian tyre makers as well as the "worsening competitiveness of Europe", notably due to inflation and rising energy prices.
Employees at the Cholet plant voted in favour of staging a strike, unions said.
Thick black smoke rose into the air as workers at the Cholet production site, which employs 955 people, set tyres on fire during a protest in front of the plant. Around 200 workers blocked traffic at a crossroads leading to the site.
"They put the 900 employees in a room like cows in a slaughterhouse and announced that it was all over," Morgane Royer, an employee and SUD union delegate, told AFP.
"Either they keep our jobs, or they pay us until we retire," CGT secretary David Goubault shouted. "They've exploited us for years."
Michelin had earlier said it planned to halt production at the two sites until November 13 "to give management and the unions time to propose collective and individual discussions with employees."
The right-wing mayor of Cholet, Gilles Bourdouleix, denounced "the rogue version of capitalism".
"For us, it's heartbreaking," Bourdouleix said, calling the announcement "brutal" as Michelin has been in Cholet for five decades.
Employees also burnt tyres and pallets in front of the Vannes plant, which was built in the early 1960s and employs around 300 people.
Eric Boisgard, who has worked there since 2004, said the workers greeted the announcement with silence.
"Everyone was devastated," he said.
The right-wing mayor of Vannes, David Robo, said: "It's a black day for Vannes and an earthquake for the region."
Michelin vowed to support the two regions by creating "as many jobs as those eliminated".
The company said it would support its employees, including with job offers in other companies or within the group, or early retirement.
"It is the collapse in business that has led to this situation, and I want to say to all these employees that we will not leave anyone by the wayside," Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux told AFP in an interview.
The Cholet plant mainly manufactures light truck tyres -- a segment that "has seen a significant decline" in Europe in recent years, with no prospect of recovery, said Michelin.
The Vannes site mainly produces metal reinforcements such as cables, which are then used to manufacture car tyres in countries including Spain and Italy.
In recent years production volumes have been declining at the plant due to changing demand from truck tyre plants in Europe, said Michelin.
The group is going through a difficult year with a slowdown in the new vehicle market.
Michelin had already closed its La-Roche-sur-Yon site in western France in 2020, and is preparing to close two plants in Germany by 2025.
The company said that in La Roche-sur-Yon more than 635 jobs had been created, compared with 613 jobs eliminated.
Schaeffler said its cuts were in response to "the challenging market environment, the increasing intensity of global competition, and ongoing transformation processes affecting the automotive supply industry".
Schaeffler, which specialises in making bearings for the automotive industry, currently has about 120,000 employees in 55 countries.
