Goodyear is closing its tire plant in the Philippines as part of its strategy to address a global pattern of “uncompetitive manufacturing capacity.”
Production will be transferred to lower-cost plants in the company’s Asia-Pacific Region.
The factory’s shuttering, which is expected to be completed later this year, will result in the dismissal of about 500 of the company’s 600 employees in the Philippines; sales and marketing operations in the country are not affected.
The closure of the plant in Las Pinas will result in the reduction of nearly two million units of annual tire production capacity, which is part of Goodyear’s strategy to remove 15 million to 25 million capacity units over the next two years.
“Due to high costs compared to other plants in the region, tires produced in the Las Pinas plant are not competitive in the marketplace,” says Pierre E. Cohade, president of Goodyear’s Asia-Pacific Region.
“Goodyear is committed to its business in the Philippines as well as continuous product innovation, and intends to maintain its market leadership through aggressive marketing, excellent customer service and superior products,” Cohade said. “This action will, in no way, disrupt our service to wholesale, retail and original equipment customers.”
Goodyear, which has had a presence in the Philippines since 1919, opened the Las Pinas plant in 1956.
Shuttering the facility will cost the company about $20 million.
For more information, visit www.goodyear.com/corporate.
