After a stoppage of two days, Pirelli’s tyre factory in Guacara, Venezuela is said to be operating again. Venezuelan daily El Universal reports that the country’s Ministry of Labour has intervened in the matter, and this led to production recommencing on 29 August.
The Pirelli factory in Guacara, Venezuela hasn’t escaped the economic turmoil the country is currently experiencing, and plant workers received a nasty surprise upon arriving for yesterday’s shift. Local news sources report that the factory has been shuttered as it lacks the raw materials needed to maintain production. Pirelli is also allegedly unable to pay the wages of its 704 unionised workers and approximately 175 other employees in Guacara following the introduction of currency reforms on 20 August.
Production at the Michelin tyre plant in Ballymena, Northern Ireland came to an end last week. Although the facility won’t officially close until 30 June, The Belfast Telegraph writes that production ended last Wednesday, with the final tyre finished the following day.
Operations at the Firestone Fibers and Textiles plant in Woodstock, Canada will cease by the end of next year, reports Bridgestone Canada Inc. The company’s decision to close the facility, whose product portfolio includes reinforcement materials for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, will affect a total of 170 employees. Bridgestone intends to close the plant in phases, beginning 31 December 2017 and culminating in the total cessation of operations in the second half of 2018.
When Goodyear Tire & Rubber first announced an intention to close its tyre factory in Philippsburg, Germany, it said it would do so by the end of 2017. The company now reports that the tyre manufacture will end at the site mid-year. In a press statement, Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany says that, together with employee representatives, agreed to wind production up by 31 July.
It appears that Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s will close its passenger car and light commercial vehicle tyre factory in Philippsburg, Germany by the end of next year, subject to consultation with relevant employee representative bodies. A ‘Form 8-K’ report published by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on 20 October states that Goodyear “expects to be substantially complete with this rationalisation plan by the end of 2017,” and estimates total pre-tax charges associated with the plant closure will be “between US$240 million and $280 million.”
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany has released a statement regarding the planned closure of its tyre factory in Philippsburg, northwest of Stuttgart. The closure will occur as part of the tyre maker’s efforts to reduce overcapacity for low-margin products. A timetable for winding-down production in Philippsburg has not yet been made public, and the plant’s closure will follow negotiations with employee unions. Some 890 jobs are expected to be lost.
In what it calls a “series of decisions that adapt its industrial and service activities in Clermont-Ferrand,” French tyre maker Michelin has announced the closure of a retreading facility at its headquarters site and a further 164 job cuts in its Engineering operation. At the same time, the company has outlined plans to invest €90 million into projects at three Clermont-Ferrand locations.
Dark clouds currently hang over Via del Garda in Rovereto, Italy. Around 290 workers at the Marangoni Group’s headquarters site have been on strike since yesterday, prompted by a decision taken by their representative union last Friday. The workers are fighting for the future of their jobs and fear for the future of their employer. According to local media, company CEO Massimo de Alessandri has described Marangoni’s situation as “increasingly difficult.” Many of those affected are questioning the company’s future and worry that Marangoni plans to lay off up to 50 per cent of the site’s workforce. Speaking with Tyres & Accessories, de Alessandri stated that such a reduction is a matter “of pure speculation” promoted by insecure workers and unions.
According to several national and regional dailies, workers have responded with strong emotions to a jobs notification posted within the Goodyear Dunlop retreading facility in Wolverhampton, which the company proposes to close in response to changing market conditions. The notification in question, as reported by the Express & Star, offers Goodyear Dunlop workers job opportunities within the human resources, production and quality departments of a company plant in Mexico.
According to Germany’s Osthessen News, Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany GmbH intends to rescind the contract it holds with 7,500 German employees. The contract, which has been in force for 17 years and renegotiated four times during this period, guaranteed the retention of the company’s seven sites in Germany and protection from business-related redundancies. Ines Sauer, Works Council chair at Goodyear Dunlop’s Fulda facility, told Osthessen News that she and the German operation’s Central Works Council were informed of Goodyear Dunlop’s plans to end the contract late last month.
North America’s largest manufacturer of aluminium car and truck rims, Superior Industries International, slid into the red in the third quarter of the 2014 financial year. The company reports a net loss of US$2.4 million due to quarter expenses of $6.9 million, which were largely associated with the upcoming closure of Superior’s factory in Rogers, Arkansas. Net sales for the third quarter decreased eight per cent to $176.4 million. Third quarter unit shipments fell 11 per cent from the corresponding prior year period to 2.6 million units versus 2.9 million units in 2013.
In response to volatility in the European truck tyre market, a segment that remains 23 per cent below its 2007 historic peak, this morning Michelin announced the planned closure of its truck tyre plant in Budapest, Hungary. Alongside such market factors, Michelin says the facility, acquired as part of its purchase of Taurus Rubber in 1996, is located in an urban area and cannot be further expanded; any other measures to improve its competitiveness would require what Michelin considers an “excessive” upgrade with new equipment. The closure will see the loss of 512 jobs.
Since spring 2012, Lanxess has run a pilot project involving a more energy and cost efficient butyl rubber production process. The process was tested at two plants at its Zwijndrecht site in Belgium, and built on research and development work it began seven years ago. The specialty chemicals company reports that this pilot project has now been concluded, with successful results. Now that the project is complete, Lanxess says it intends to mothball the plants. It has begun a labour consultation process with unions and employees.
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