Concern as tyre manufacturer Goodyear starts retrenchment process

The Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB)Business Chamber in the Eastern Cape, says lack of basic enablers and the possible United States tariff policy to be imposed have been a major threat to the manufacturing industry in the country.

This follows the news that the tyre manufacturing company, Goodyear, has initiated Section 189A process to restructure its manufacturing operations in its plant based in Kariega.

The Chamber says the trend of retrenchments in the tyre manufacturing environment indicates that companies are under pressure for a number of reasons.

NMB Business Chamber CEO, Denise Van Huyssteen, says this is concerning.

“This highlights the massive pressure which tyre manufacturers are under due to enabling environment issues such as logistic challenges, service delivery at a local level, inadequate maintenance of electricity, water and electricity infrastructure, increased costs relating to safety and security, above inflation costs for essential services, as well as cheap tyre imports that are flooding the market. We continue to remain concerned about the viability of the manufacturing sector due to these basic enablers not being in place, as well as the impact of the United States tariffs policies on global manufacturing.”