Goodyear Cutting Philippines Tyre Jobs

Goodyear has announced that it is to close its Philippines tyre plant, cutting 83 per cent of its staff within the country in the process, reports The Wall Street Journal. The reduced demand and the high costs of running the facility mean that the Las Pinas plants products “are not competitive in the marketplace,” according to Pierre Cohade, Goodyear Asia-Pacific regional president.

The closure will happen at the end of the current quarter, with 500 out of the 600 Philippines workers laid off. According to reports, the company’s sales and marketing departments will remain unaffected. As previously noted on Tyrepress.com, Goodyear plans to cut much of its worldwide capacity over the next two years, and this latest closure will account for 2 million of the 15 million units of annual production due to be shed. The Wall Street Journal report concludes that Goodyear will record approximately $20 million in charges as a consequence of the closure.