Brisa Bridgestone Looks to Egypt to Reduce Labour Costs

Bridgestone affiliate company Brisa Bridgestone Sabanci Lastik Sanayi & Ticaret A.S., which manufactures tyres in Turkey, may construct a new plant in Egypt to avoid high Turkish labour costs. The average worker at a tyre facility in Turkey costs the company about US$50,000 to employ, therefore competing with rivals in regions such as Eastern Europe is difficult.

“Egypt is one of the alternatives we’ve been looking and working on it all the time,” commented Guler Sabanci, chairwoman of Haci Omer Sabanci Holding A.S., joint venture partner with Bridgestone in the Brisa operation. According to Ms Sabanci’s office, an Egyptian worker is at least $5,000 cheaper per annum to employ.