Covid-19: Bridgestone Temporarily Suspends Tyre Production In Americas
Published On 23-Mar-2020
The shut down is likely to continue for the next 3 weeks
The coronavirus pandemic continues to trouble the tyre industry. In the latest round of updates, Bridgestone Americas Inc. has decided to temporarily suspend production at its manufacturing factories in Latin America and North America starting March 21. The tyre giant is likely to close its facilities till April 12. The shut down will impact its 15,500 employees at its tyre facilities across the North and Latin America.
Reassuring its commitment to its customers, the company said that it has sufficient supply to meet consumer demand globally. The move will only drop the tyre production at its plant, its warehouses, distribution centres and logistics will continue to function as they were earlier. The brief suspension will help the firm to realign the predicted tyre demand of the market.
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Bridgestone is continuously monitoring the situation and will take necessary actions based on its assessment report.
In its official statement, Bridgestone said, “As the company carefully monitors the coronavirus situation, it is continuing to take action in all aspects of operations to ensure the health and safety of our employees while also addressing the needs of customers and the market.”
As the impact of coronavirus deepens, more and more tyre manufactures are shutting down their manufacturing plants as a safety measure. On March 17, Goodyear made a big announcement to close its tyre production in Europe. The North and South American plants would also be temporarily closed, it said the next day. The suspension of tyre manufacturing is likely to continue until April 3.
Another tyre maker, Nokian Tyres reduced its workforce at its Finland-based factory as a precautionary measure. It asked 1630 employees of this plant to go on leave temporarily. However, this had more to do with the indirect impact of the virus on its demand. In the official statement, it said, “The background for these activities is the decrease in demand in the European car and tyre market.”
Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Nokian Tyre Maker Asks 1,630 Staff To Go Home Temporarily
Michelin too joined the bandwagon and has suspended production at its European facilities which fall in the countries affected by the Covid-19.
