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HeraldLIVE reports that it is the end of the road for Bridgestone SA’s Port Elizabeth plant and the employment of its 252 workers, with operations winding up and the closure of the plant earmarked for 15 November.
The announcement of the tyre manufacturing plant’s closure was made by Bridgestone SA chief executive Jacques Fourie on Tuesday. He had announced in August that shutting up shop was imminent, with a Section 189 retrenchment process underway. Fourie indicated that chief among the industry changes that led to the closure was that the bias (crossply) industrial and off-the-road tyres manufactured at the Port Elizabeth plant were 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 the industry is rapidly moving towards,” he advised. Fourie said the company was aware of the impact the closure would have on the lives of Port Elizabeth employees and had “committed to mitigate the impact of the proposed closure”. He said fair severance packages would be provided and “where possible, skills will be redeployed”. The group said it was still committed to southern Africa and pointed out that its Brits manufacturing facility in the North West would continue full operations.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Angela Daniels and Nomazima Nkosi at TimesLIVE
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