More than 100 Michelin Dundee workers have already left the factory more than a year before its scheduled closure.
It was announced in November the Baldovie tyre factory, one of the city’s biggest employers, would close in summer 2020.
By the end of April, 130 employees will have left. A third of those have retired, while the rest have found work elsewhere.
Shift patterns have been altered by factory management to cope with the reduced staffing.
Fears had been raised that much of the 854-strong workforce could leave the city entirely due to a dearth of local jobs that match their current salaries.
However, Unite regional industrial officer Bob MacGregor said: “I don’t think there has been a mass exodus from Dundee.
“People are leaving gradually as they find work. It makes sense. You wouldn’t want to be trying to find work at the same time as the factory closes next year.
“It was an ageing workforce too and some will have just decided to call it a day.
“Nobody is feeling pressured to leave early. Michelin have planned for this all along.
“The shift patterns have changed from five to four so that would match up with the numbers leaving. As more leave, the shift patterns will reduce more.”
Employees are being offered various incentives to find work, with £25,000 on offer if a suitable opportunity is available at another of the firm’s factories and £15,000 for a relocation to a site other than one run by Michelin.
Both would have to be at least 50 miles outside the city to receive the payment.
Mr McGregor, who is on the Michelin Action Group set up to help staff find work, said he had not heard of anyone taking up the offer yet.
He added: “The relocation packages are pretty generous but I don’t know of anyone who has taken one.
“It’s possible some of the workers who moved here from Northern Ireland or France have gone back to find work there.
“Michelin are helping people with training to set up their own small business so some have done that and that means they’ll still be around Tayside.”
A longstanding Michelin employee, who did not wish to be named, added he believes Michelin must be “one of the best” employers to deal with during redundancy.
John Reid, factory manager at Michelin Dundee, said the 130 employees that have left is “pretty much in line with our expectations”, adding: “We’ll continue to focus on finding the best possible outcomes for all our employees.”
Scottish Government Economy Secretary Derek Mackay said: “The Scottish Government will continue to do everything we can to support the repurposing of the Michelin Dundee site as an Innovation Parc, as it becomes a key location for low carbon energy and low carbon transport development in Scotland.
“The Memorandum of Understanding with Michelin confirms our shared aim to secure a long-term future for the site and to generate significant employment there. This will encompass the transformation of the site, and supporting and developing the skills and the capacity of their dedicated workforce.
“We are already driving forward phase one of the Michelin-Scotland Alliance projects through our ‘One Scotland’ approach, working with local, regional, and national partners from the public and private sectors; with the UK Government; and, of course, with the trade unions.
“We are also providing support for employees onsite through our PACE initiative in conjunction with Michelin’s outplacement agency Career Directions.”
