On a visit this Thursday to the Goodyear site in Amiens, in the Somme, the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, had taken care to bring the state checkbook. To modernize its factory, the American tire manufacturer has been promised the tidy sum of nearly 45 million euros, we learned from the town hall of Amiens.
The history that links Amiens to Goodyear has not always been a long calm river. In 2014, nearly 1,200 employees of the Amiens-Nord factory were laid off after the site closed. A long-term lawsuit brought by 800 former Goodyears, who disputed the economic reason for their dismissal, had also cost the company dearly. Today, the Amiens-Sud site is still running at full speed. For this to continue, the American tire giant must modernize this aging factory.
It is for this purpose that the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, has promised state aid of 44.6 million euros as part of the France recovery plan. Aid, subject to the approval of the European Commission, which will complement an investment of 100 million from Goodyear. According to the mayor of Amiens, Brigitte Fouré, this investment will make this factory “the most modern in Europe” and will ensure the continued employment of the 800 employees “for at least 10 years”.