Michelin North America has informed employees, customers, community leaders and other public stakeholders that the company will begin winding down tire production at its Ardmore, OK site, with the goal of completing the process by the end of 2025 or sooner. Rubber-mixing operations at the Ardmore factory are expected to continue.
The wind-down decision impacts approximately 1,400 people associated with tire-manufacturing activities (excluding additional contractors) at the Ardmore site, which has produced passenger tires since 1970, Michelin said. Tire production will gradually shift to Michelin’s other passenger-tire plants in North America.
Despite investments over the past five years to improve technical capabilities and competitiveness, Michelin said it concluded that the Ardmore factory is not equipped to deliver tires at competitive costs that will meet these evolving market demands in the coming years. Continuing investments to modernize the Ardmore plant would negatively impact other U.S. sites in the network, the company said.
Precise timing has not been determined for specific phases of the wind-down. Based on the current outlook for market demand, operations at the Ardmore plant are expected to continue trending gradually lower until mid-2024, when the first wave of staffing reductions will occur, Michelin said. Additional reductions are expected to occur in phases through 2025 as transition plans are finalized.
Michelin’s rubber-mixing operations at the Ardmore plant supply other factories in North America, however, after tire-manufacturing activities wind down, these rubber-mixing operations are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
