Goodyear to close Philippines tyre plant

ERJ staff report (DS)

Akron, Ohio -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced that it will close its tyre plant in the Philippines as part of a strategy to address uncompetitive manufacturing capacity globally.

The closure of the plant in Las Pinas will result in the reduction of nearly two million units of annual production capacity, which is part of Goodyear's strategy to remove 15 million to 25 million units of capacity over the next two years. Production will be transferred to lower-cost plants in the company's Asia-Pacific Region.

The action, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter, will result in a reduction of approximately 500 of the company's 600 associates in the Philippines. Goodyear said its sales and marketing operations in the country are not affected.

“Due to high costs compared to other plants in the region, tyres produced in the Las Pinas plant are not competitive in the marketplace,” said Pierre E. Cohade, president of Goodyear's Asia-Pacific Region. Goodyear, which has had a presence in the Philippines since 1919, opened the Las Pinas plant in 1956.

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Press release listing from Goodyear

Goodyear halts RP manufacturing operations Manila Bulletin (Philippines)