Tyre Strike Threat to Turkish Automotive Industry

The ongoing Tyre Workers Union strike is threatening Turkey’s automotive industry. Estimates are placing a figure in the region of YTL 10 million (over £4 million) on daily losses for tyre manufacturers since the strike began on 31 May, while the supply losses are starting to hinder Turkish automotive exports that account for 75 per cent of the industry’s total production.

Bridgestone’s Turkish-based arm, Brisa – one of the companies affected by the strike, alongside Pirelli and Goodyear – has released statements detailing the losses to the Turkish government in taxes, estimated at YTL 1 million a day.

Gökhan Cüceloğlu, Brisa’s Marketing and Business Development Director, has detailed to Turkish news sources the seriousness of the knock-on effect of the loss of tyre supplies to the rest of the automotive industry: “[Turkey aims to export] 950,000 automobiles to the global market next year; if we lose a part of that market by not being able to produce quickly and efficiently, we will lose out on a lot of revenue. Tyres do not keep in storage for a extended period of time — if this grievance does not go away and stay away, then we will be in a serious bind.”