Bridgestone South Africa (BSAF) has finalised the process to
close down its tyre manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.
The
plant’s last day of operation will be 15 November. This follows a consultation
with workers and unions.
In August, the company announced its proposal to close the Port
Elizabeth facility and initiated a Section 189 notice, along with a 60-day
consultative process with its 252 affected workers in compliance with Labour
Relations Act.
“The proposal to close the plant was not taken lightly and the
impact on employees has been taken into account from the outset,” says Jacques
Fourie, BSAF chief executive. “We endeavored to treat employees with the utmost
compassion and fairness to support them through the change, while adhering to
all legal requirements and due diligence.”
BSAF has in recent years seen its financial performance come
under pressure, hard-hit by a variety of economic conditions and industry
factors. Chief among these industry changes was the bias industrial and
off-the-road tyres manufactured at the Port Elizabeth plant being phased out in
the market, as a result of a growing trend in the production and use of radial
tyres globally.
“The unfortunate reality is that the plant is simply unable to
produce the radial tyre that industry is rapidly moving towards,” says Fourie.
“Upgrading the factory to produce radial tyres would have necessitated an
investment in a completely new multibillion-rand plant, which is not feasible
or justifiable under any circumstances, especially in the current economy.”
Despite concerted efforts to keep the plant going, including the
sale of the factory to investors, all these were unsuccessful and the plant was
unable to continue running, a decision that company directors say they only
took after exhausting all alternative options.
BSAF is still committed to serving society with superior quality
in Southern Africa and its Brits manufacturing facility will continue to fully
operate.
The company will ensure all the necessary support is provided to
workers as the operation comes to an end this month.
