Goodyear Plans to Shut its Philippsburg Tire Plant

Germany: Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany revealed in a statement about its planned closure of the Philippsburg tire factory, in order to lower overcapacity for the low-margin products. The timeline for closing the production at the plant still hasn’t been made public. Moreover, the employee union would also have negotiations before the plant’s closure, as a little less than 900 jobs are anticipated to be lost.

“The plan to close our plant in Philippsburg is a difficult choice and we’re very conscious of social responsibility we have for our workers,” states Jürgen Titz, Goodyear Dunlop’s group managing director DACH, he further added, “It is for us a matter of concern to find socially sustainable solutions for all affected employees and to offer them further appropriate assistance.”

Generally, ceasing in less profitable areas and closure of plants occur at the time, when the company plans to invest in developing innovative technologies and products to accommodate the increasing demand for bigger rim diameter tires.

“Our strategy aims to increase Goodyear’s presence in the highly-complex and larger-size tyre segment, where above average rates of growth are being seen,” comments Jean-Claude Kihn, president of Goodyear’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He further added, “Our customers want more of our premium tyres in 17-inch and larger rim diameter sizes. These are in strong demand from our original equipment customers today and will enter the aftermarket in the years to come.”

As per TechSci Research, the decision made by Goodyear to close its plant in Philippsburg is expected to limit the company’s progress at a miniscule rate, particularly in passenger car tire market, as the company still have passenger car tire manufacturing plants across the region. Unfortunately, the step taken by the company wouldn’t give much of an opportunity to other flagship brands, present in Germany, to gain leverage upon Goodyear’s share in the country.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, “Germany Tyre Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2020”, Germany is the largest economy in Europe and is also one of the leading tire markets, globally. Being one of the major exporting hubs for automobile producers, Germany’s automotive industry is known worldwide for its high quality automobile manufacturing. Moreover, the country is the fourth largest in terms of total vehicle production, globally, after China, US and Japan. All the factors, coupled together, position Germany as one of most lucrative markets for leading global tire manufacturers.