Tyre makers Michelin and Continental have announced job cuts and plant closures in recent weeks while Solideal says it "has the same challenges" as its counterparts.

Last month, AFP reported French tyre manufacturer Michelin's plans to cut 2,800 jobs through early retirement and voluntary redundancies in the next three years. It also said it would shut down one of its plants in northern France at Novelles-les-Seclin but would boost R&D funding at its Clermont-Ferrard plant by over EUR100 million (USD138.7 million).

"We're (consolidating) in France and we want to continue to produce amid very aggressive competition," Michelin industrial director for Europe, Thierry Chiche told AFP.

The company insisted that the 1,800 voluntary redundancies over the next three years would not be forced and 1,093 jobs would be cut from 2010. It planned to hire 500 people a year over the next three years to ensure a turnover in the workforce.

Tyre maker Solideal is also believed to have trimmed staff numbers, telling Forkliftaction.com News "we are doing what is necessary to meet [our] challenges- that includes adjusting production volumes".

"[We] have had the same challenges as all companies in our industry - lower demand. The group remains committed to being a strong partner to the global materials handling industry," spokesperson Jerome Horowitz says.

Meanwhile, Continental has signed a joint venture agreement with Sri Lankan solid tyre manufacturer Eu-Retec Pvt Ltd. According to Continental Industrial Tires Business Unit managing director Michael Maertens, the agreement gives Continental a base to improve its market position in Asia and the US.

Continental's sales exceeded EUR24 billion (USD33.3 billion) in 2008. It employs about 133,000 people at 190 locations in 35 countries. Continental also announced it is closing its factory in Clairoix, north of Paris, with 1,120 jobs lost.