(4 minutes read)
· Bridgestone South Africa (BSAF) is closing down its tire manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth on 15 November
· The company says that the proposal to close the plant was carefully thought out and endeavored to treat employees with utmost compassion and fairness to support them through the change
· BSAF has another tire manufacturing facility at its Brits plant, which produces radial tires and would continue with that production facility with increased capacity.
Bridgestone South Africa (BSAF) is closing down its tire manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape as reported by www.trendsnafrica.com couple of months ago, when the talks were at a preliminary stage. The plant’ will pull the shutters on 15 November. The company already had consultations with the workers and unions.
In August, the company announced its proposal to close the Port Elizabeth facility. Subsequently the plant served a mandatory Section 189 notice, along with a 60-day consultative process with its 252 affected workers as mandated by the Labor Relations Act.
The company says that the proposal to close the plant was carefully thought out and endeavored to treat employees with utmost compassion and fairness to support them through the change. BSAF’s bottom lines have come under pressure due to a variety of industry factors compounded by the state of the economy exacerbated by the Covid-19 impact.
BSAF at this facility has been manufacturing off-the-road tires (cross-ply), which are being phased out as a result of a growing use of radial tires globally. The facility at Port Elizabeth cannot be upgraded to produce radial tires. To continue production in the present facility, the company has to invest in a completely new multi- billion-radial plant, which is not feasible or jus not viable in the present circumstances. The company also revealed that it had resorted to all strategies to continue with production including outright sale to the investors. But those efforts did not bring any results. BSAF has another tire manufacturing facility at its Brits plant, which produces radial tires and would continue with that production facility with increased capacity. .
