Social innovation has been a hallmark of Michelin’s identity since the very beginning. At Michelin, innovation is not just a matter of technology. Michelin is also a pioneer in social terms, supporting its employees in both their personal and professional lives through a program of action. Very early on in its existence, Michelin created an environment conducive to the enhanced wellbeing of its employees and their families, building schools, healthcare centers, hospitals, sports amenities and offering training opportunities. It was also a way to make the company a more attractive employer at a time when there was a labor shortage due to a mainly rural population.
As early as 1927, Edouard Michelin wrote: “We are convinced that our firm is prospering due to its welfare programs.” A century later, Michelin Group CEO Florent Menegaux declared: “We cannot expect our employees to buy in to a collective project if they are living in survival mode.”
These declarations were made several decades apart but the two company leaders shared the same belief. In other words, Michelin will always be Michelin!
Michelin laid the foundations for its social policy at the start of the 20th century
Michelin’s bonus and profit-sharing scheme dates back to the start of the last century.
In 1910, Michelin set up a cooperative to supply food and consumer goods to its employees. It also ran a restaurant serving around 700 meals a day.
Given the dilapidated state of housing, the company purchased 35 hectares of land and built 8,000 affordable housing for its employees between 1919 and 1923.
Dispensaries provided free medical appointments for employees and first-aid stations were set up in the plants.
In the middle of the nineteen thirties, Michelin opened its first daycare center so that women could breastfeed their babies during working hours.
Michelin took care of educating its employees’ children, opening an apprenticeship center and arranging evening classes for its workers.
Sport was important for the company too: in 1911, it founded the ASM club (Michelin sportive association), which boasted a swimming pool - the only one in the area for many years! - with its legendary Michelin Man Fountain.
A lasting heritage which still resonates today - putting people first
For Michelin, no change can come about without factoring in the human dimension. In Michelin’s quest to accelerate and sustain change it puts the wellbeing of the people with whom it interacts on a par with its economic, financial and environmental goals.
Social security, workplace inclusion, a living wage, lifelong learning - these are all natural commitments for Michelin.
Taking care of employees who devote time and effort to contributing to the success of the company seems only fair. For Michelin it goes without saying. This underpins the Group’s multifaceted vision which is deployed worldwide: a universal social protection floor, adequate pay to provide for the needs of the employee’s family and save for a rainy day, an inclusive working environment, training opportunities throughout their career - Michelin undertakes a whole range of initiatives for the benefit of its employees. Here are a few examples:
The Michelin One Care Program
This program offers all Group employees worldwide a package of social benefits reflecting three core priorities: providing time off for a new arrival in the family, death benefits for the families of employees and healthcare coverage for all employees and their families.
A living wage for everyone
For the second consecutive year, Michelin was awarded Global Living Wage Employer certification by the Fair Wage Network, a globally recognized NGO. This certifies that Group employees* receive at least the equivalent of the living wage.
*Scope of certification: all Michelin Group companies except for newly acquired companies or companies in the process of being sold.
Career-long training
Michelin opened its talent campus, “La Manufacture Des Talents”, in 2022 following on from Hall 32, a vocational training center for industry created in 2019. Both are intended to help boost lifelong employability and offer top-notch training in the careers of tomorrow. The talent campus offers more than 26,000 different training and personal development courses and has already delivered more than 4.7 million hours of training - twice as much as the usual figure in other companies. Moreover, the on-line training offer has increased six-fold in the space of three years.
An inclusive workplace
Equal opportunities, fair treatment for employees throughout their career, gender equality in industry where women are still underrepresented, diversity etc. Since 2005, the Group does its utmost to ensure that everyone - irrespective of their personal characteristics - is entitled to the same respect and consideration at all levels of the company and fights all forms of discrimination.
Living wage
A host of community projects and initiatives across the globe
In response to the changing competitive landscape and structural factors impacting the competitiveness of its manufacturing operations, the Group may be obliged to halt certain activities in order to safeguard the future of the company, in some cases, despite the efforts deployed by its teams. These are among the most difficult decisions to take. Michelin systematically makes a two-pronged commitment, supporting all employees and helping the impacted communities. This is the role of Michelin Development which is involved in regenerating the areas impacted by economic change so as to encourage the emergence of new activities and promote job creation. The Group is involved in major transformation projects such as the CleanTech Innovation Park in Bamberg (Germany), the Michelin Scotland Innovation Park in Dundee (Scotland) and ATINEA in La Roche-sur-Yon (France). Michelin Development has created 40,000 new jobs since 1990.
The MICHELIN Innovation Park Cataroux project is another illustration of a redevelopment initiative launched by the Group in collaboration with various local public and private partners. It is a multifaceted project intended to boost the economic dynamism and the attractiveness of the region, make cultural, recreational and sport/wellbeing activities more accessible, promote equal opportunities and encourage innovation. Parc Cataroux alone represents an investment budget of €300 million.
The Group is involved in a host of community initiatives wherever it does business. The Company’s Michelin Volunteering Program encourages employees to get involved in a variety of local community actions ranging from healthcare, education and emergency relief to safe mobility, environmental protection, diversity and inclusion. In Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil where Michelin is a large natural rubber buyer, it advocates for responsible management of the rubber growing sector. For example, this includes contributing to the social and economic development of smallholders. In 2023, Michelin, together with its subsidiaries, joint ventures and partners delivered 467,000 training courses in the field to more than 90,000 rubber growers.
The Michelin Corporate Foundation carries on Michelin’s longstanding tradition of social responsibility
The Foundation upholds the Group’s values of respect and solidarity, supporting projects which directly benefit the local community in more than 30 countries. Training in tomorrow’s skills, inclusion and equal opportunities, a healthy diet and lifestyle, sustainable mobility, forest biodiversity, collaborative social models and regional development are the main focus areas of the Foundation.
Michelin will therefore always be Michelin, a Group shaped by people-centric values which will continue to uphold the same convictions along its future journey. Michelin believes that positive interaction with all its various stakeholders is the prerequisite for a sustainable future - a vision embodied in the Group’s many initiatives and undertakings.