TOKYO (Kyodo) -- French tire manufacturer Michelin is considering ending tire production in Japan as early as next summer due to sluggish sales amid a global economic slump, sources close to the matter said Monday.
Michelin plans to shut down its sole manufacturing factory in Japan in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, and its Tokyo-based Japanese unit has started negotiations with the labor union, the sources said.
About 300 people are employed by the Ota plant's manufacturing division.
A spokesman for Michelin's Japanese unit declined to give further details, saying that no agreement has been made about the matter yet.
