Bridgestone cutting jobs, production in Argentina

Buenos Aires – Bridgestone Argentina has announced a new round of job cuts at its industrial plant in the Buenos Aires town of Llavallol, following a sharp drop in demand last year and amid negative expectations for this year.

The tire maker has requested an extension of the ‘preventive crisis procedure (PPC)’ a legal procedure that enables the company to avoid insolvency or bankruptcy by restructuring operations.

“The business and market are challenging and the outlook for 2025 looks even tougher,” said Bridgestone West in a statement to ERJ.

The trend, said the tire & rubber group, requires being “realistic about where we are and assess potential steps we can take to optimise our structure and re-prioritise key projects.”

The cost-reduction measures include cuts in corporate, sales and manufacturing workforce throughout the Americas, said the 17 Jan statement.

An exact number of employees to be affected by the cuts would be determined after PPC talks.

The tire maker submitted the initial PPC in mid-2024 through which it dismissed 450 employees to address a decrease in overseas market and lower production rates. (ERJ report)

The latest extension request, submitted 15 Jan, said Bridgestone had the “reducing production to meet the expected demand for 2025, ensuring compliance with our current commercial agreements.”

According to local trade union Sunta, the new round of cuts is expected to affect 290 jobs.

In a 16 Jan statement, the union urged the Argentinian secretary of labour to reject the extension during a preliminary hearing scheduled for 20 Jan.

Over the first three quarters of 2024, Bridgestone reported a loss of Yen22 billion (€137 million) in earnings from its Argentinian operations, where it said the business environment has been volatile and impacted by hyperinflation.

Last July, Bridgestone introduced the first round of cuts at the Buenos Aires plant to focus its operations on the local market.

At the time, the tire maker said foreign demand had “decrease drastically” and that the export level was “10% of what was planned in the past.”

The Buenos Aires operation will, therefore, now focus on producing Bridgestone and Firestone tires for local OE and replacement markets, said the manufacturer.