Goodyear will discontinue consumer tire production at a factory in Amiens, France as part of its global strategy to reduce manufacturing capacity.
“This action is a result of the plant’s uncompetitive costs. Reaching a union agreement to modernize the operation proved impossible,” says Serge Lussier, vice president of manufacturing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “Due to high costs and weak industry demand, the consumer tires produced there are uncompetitive in the marketplace.”
Some 6 million units of production will be reduced by the closure, which is part of Goodyear’s strategy to remove 15 million to 25 million units of capacity over the next two years.
The shuttering is set for next year, eliminating 820 of the 1,200 positions at the plant, which also produces farm tires. Production at a second tire factory in Amiens, employing about 1,000 people, will continue unabated.
Goodyear is also exploring the sale or elimination of its farm tire division in EMEA and Latin America while keeping the Asia Pacific farm tire operation intact. The firm sold its North American farm tire division in 2005.
For more information, visit www.goodyear.com.
