Tyre giant hits the brakes: Numsa laments Goodyear closure affecting 900 jobs
Goodyear to close down its manufacturing plant in the Eastern Cape, affecting 900 jobs. Picture: iStock
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has expressed deep disappointment over Goodyear's decision to restructure, which will result in the closure of its manufacturing plant in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape.
The closure is set to impact more than 900 jobs, while thousands from secondary industries will be threatened.
In a country where unemployment remains a pressing concern, news of further job losses raises serious questions about South Africa's economic future. Yet, given the current economic climate, businesses can do little to create or retain jobs if they are struggling to remain financially viable.
'It is becoming a ghost town': 78 years of Goodyear
Goodyear tyres started manufacturing in Kariega, formerly known as Uitenhage in 1947.
Numsa confirmed it has received a section 189 notice from Goodyear Managing Director Paul Gerrard, signalling the start of the retrenchment process.
'As the region, we are deeply worried about the impact on workers and their families. It is becoming a ghost town given that ContiTech, which is part of Continental, closed down — another company in the tyre and rubber industry.'
The union stresses that it will not be easy to replace these jobs, as the Eastern Cape already has a high unemployment rate of more than 41%.
ALSO READ: Act now to absorb impact of Trump tariffs on SA vehicle manufacturing sector – BLSA
Goodyear to offer severance packages
Numsa said it will do everything in its power to negotiate fair severance packages for the affected employees. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will facilitate the retrenchment process.
'The dates of the first consultation will be communicated in due course,' said Numsa.
Goodyear announced the news last week.
'As part of that transformation, Goodyear South Africa is launching a restructuring process in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act to address proposals regarding the closure of its manufacturing facility in South Africa and the realignment of certain sales, administration and general management functions.'
Not total closure
Goodyear will still maintain a sales and distribution presence in the country, as well as its Hi-Q retail operations.
'This proposal is in no way a reflection of the commendable efforts or the years of dedication of our South Africa team, for which we are grateful.
'As a company, we recognise our responsibilities towards our employees and their families and are firmly committed to acting fairly and providing them with appropriate support,' the statement added.
ALSO READ: Sectors showing growth in job opportunities in SA
Eastern Cape in technical recession
Eastern Cape entered a technical recession in 2024 after its economy contracted for the third consecutive quarter.
A report by the Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) revealed that the province's GDP, in rand value, declined from R368.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 to R366.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
The largest contributors to this decline were the construction, manufacturing, and mining industries. Only two industries, agriculture and electricity, saw growth in that period.
NOW READ: The dark picture of youth unemployment in South Africa
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
US demands on exemption from South Africa's BEE requirements yet to be addressed with Ramaphosa
The Freedom Front Plus delegation in Washington last week. Image: Facebook/FFPlus FF Plus leader Corné Mulder says he has yet to brief President Cyril Ramaphosa on claims that the Trump administration has demanded that US entities be exempted from all Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) requirements as a precondition for normalising bilateral relations with South Africa. There are more than 600 US companies based in South Africa. Mulder made the claims as a FF Plus delegation returned from the US where they met with senior White House officials. This demand was part of a broader set of conditions that include addressing farm attacks, condemning the "Kill the Boer" chant, and ensuring fair market compensation for land expropriation. According to Mulder, the White House officials expressed concern that these conditions have not been adequately addressed. In May, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation embarked on a working visit to the US to meet with US president Donald Trump to help reset strained relations between the two countries, and secure a favorable trade deal after a fallout over the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel that had been instituted by South Africa. Mulder, who held a press briefing on yesterday, said the delegation was committed to normalising relations between South Africa and the US and described Ramaphosa's visit with Trump in May as 'premature'. "We have a clear understanding of the US Administration's expectations," Mulder said. "The delegation has undertaken to communicate these pre-conditions to both the South African government and the broader public in the interest of transparency, accountability, and the restoration of strong bilateral ties,' said Mulder. Mulder added that they had not gone to the US to complain. He said that discussions on claimed genocide did not arise and they did not meet with the 50 white Afrikaners who were granted refugee status by the Trump administration. Southern African Agri Initiative chairman Theo de Jager, and National Employers' Association CEO Gerhard Papenfus were also part of the delegation. According to business group Sakeliga's CEO Piet le Roux, this development marks a substantial escalation in international pressure against South Africa's 'race-restrictive economic policies'. "The international backlash against BEE and other race-restrictive policies of the South African government is set to escalate further in the coming months and years," Le Roux said. Le Roux noted that the US demand elevates race-restrictive legislation beyond domestic affairs to the level of international economic and diplomatic relations This could lead to a ratcheting up of US-led bilateral or multilateral pressure opposing restrictive legislation in South Africa. Speaking on BEE, De Jager said there was only one way to avoid economic migrants and that was by improving their livelihoods. "The principle here is that there must be equal citizenship…there must be respective property rights and there must be an environment where we can also do business. 'They (Trump administration) said to us that they had heard us on the BEE matter, that it is a non-trade tariff barrier and they said that they would not restore any trade relationship if these preconditions are not adhered to. 'The biggest war of our generation is poverty and hunger and the only way we can deal with that is to create wealth…So we are gradually losing investment because of the likes of BEE and the threat to expropriate your property without compensation. You cannot invest in a country where you are not safe. 'We need an environment that will safeguard investment whether you are black or white. As Afrikaners we don't have access to production financing anymore. We need that kind of access,' said de Jager. Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told IOL that the group was pursuing its "own agenda". "Our experience is that State actors do not use non-state actors as intermediaries; therefore, the Freedom Front Plus' (VF Plus) visit and subsequent pronouncements will be viewed as nothing more than their ambitions," he said. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya did not respond to questions on how the South African government would react to the US demands. However, Ramaphosa has previously indicated that he would not back down from implementing BEE policies. "BEE is not holding back the economy, but rather the concentrated nature of our economy is," Ramaphosa said. He defended using racial designations as a means to address economic disparities, although he acknowledged that this might not be necessary in the future.
The Citizen
2 hours ago
- The Citizen
Ukraine is becoming the wedge driving US and Europe apart
Europe's sabotage of US peace efforts might force the White House to shift the entire burden of aid to Ukraine onto Europe alone. The irony of geopolitics is that friends can become overnight enemies and enemies can become friends – it's all about power dynamics. That's exactly what is emerging among Western allies, whose common enemy all along has been Russia, until Donald Trump came around and spoiled the party. It was bound to happen that Trump's determination to end the war between Ukraine and Russia would cause tension among the Western nations. War is used by unscrupulous politicians to stay in power, manipulating public perceptions to create an impression that a particular leader is a patriot who loves their country by standing up against the enemy, no matter the cost to human life, even genocide. Ukraine has increasingly emerged as a critical fault line in relations between the United States and European nations. Tension has been exacerbated by Kyiv, which, amid Trump's withdrawal of unconditional support, has been pressing the European Union for military and financial guarantees, which has become Volodymyr Zelensky's favourite topic when visiting Europe. With this pressure, Zelensky cast European leaders as adversaries to their American counterparts. ALSO READ: Zelensky signs decree for Ukraine's withdrawal from anti-landmine treaty Some observers have described Ukraine as the 'gravedigger' of transatlantic unity, pushing Nato to the brink of collapse. This idea was confirmed by Politico, which emphasised the possibility of Nato's eventual breakup. It pointed to a growing convergence between US and Russian positions on a range of global issues, despite persistent anti-Russian sentiment among European elites. Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described the current trajectory as an 'uncoordinated divorce' between the US and Europe. Amid this tension, Ukraine has signed bilateral security and mutual defence agreements with 28 countries across the collective West over the past year. This is in addition to the $50 billion in financial support pledged by the G7 nations to Ukraine last December, drawn from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The proposal to deploy Western peacekeeping forces to Ukrainian territory remains little more than rhetorical flourish by European politicians seeking to bolster their domestic standing. ALSO READ: Trump reassures allies as NATO agrees 'historic' spending hike That's what one means by war and power – the innocent must die because politicians need to stay in power, be it in Europe or Israel. The West appears far from reaching consensus on direct involvement. Trump's firm stance against sending American troops, coupled with Europe's limited military capacity, have effectively ruled out the deployment of even a modest peacekeeping contingent. In a recent piece, UnHerd, a publication that claims to be neither going with the crowd nor pushing an agenda, echoed this scepticism. The publication argues that while Europe may technically have the capacity to support Ukraine for 'as long as it takes,' the political and strategic appetite to do so appears increasingly fragile. It has become clear that under Trump, the Western alliance will never be stable. Trump may prefer to abandon US sponsorship of Kyiv in exchange for providing Russia with guarantees of American noninterference in the Ukrainian conflict. In the end, Europe's sabotage of US peace efforts might force the White House to shift the entire burden of aid to Ukraine onto Europe alone – leaving them it to deal with this overwhelming problem without US involvement. NOW READ: Europe's appetite for war: Why peace in Ukraine remains elusive
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
AfDB slashes SA's growth forecast by half amid structural challenges, trade war concerns
The bank said priority actions should include enhancing governance and operational efficiency of State-Owned Enterprises, particularly of Eskom and rail, ports and pipelines operator Transnet, to restore service reliability and unlock growth. Image: Leon Lestrade/ Independent Newspapers The African Development Bank (AfDB) has drastically cut South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for 2025 below 1%, saying that the economy continued to be weighed down by a range of structural constraints and could take a hit from Trump's trade war. In its Country Focus Report for South Africa published on Wednesday, the AfDB lowered its forecast for Africa's most-industrialised economy to a meager 0.8% this year from a previous estimate of 1.6%. This forecast by the AfDB is more pessimistic than the National Treasury's growth forecast of 1.4% for the year, which was revised down from a prior 1.9% on the back of geopolitical tensions including Trump's trade levies. It is also less than the South African Reserve Bank's latest projection of 1.2% this year amid declining mining and manufacturing output and rising unemployment, though it is expected to rise to 1.8% by 2027. S&P Global also recently lowered its 2025 GDP growth projection for South Africa to 1.1% from 1.3% previously due to weaker-than-expected GDP print for the first quarter. AfDB country economist Akhona Peter said South Africa's economy was vulnerable to external shocks particularly from the United States, its second largest export destination after China. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The Trump administration is expected to implement its hefty 31 import tariffs on a number of exporting countries next week, including South Africa, which exports a variety of minerals and commodities to the US. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was not considering delaying implementing the tariffs again after he temporarily suspended them for 90 days in April. 'This is mainly on the fact that we expect trade tensions to pretty much affect net exports negatively,' Peter said. 'Industries such as agriculture, which rely heavily on US market access, will be particularly vulnerable. In the short-term, this could slow economic activity, decrease firm profitability, and constrain job creation in export-linked industries.' The South African government is keen to ensure that the new requirements by the US do not unduly disadvantage local enterprises, hence the appeal for strategic patience from the South African industry. South Africa's proposed Framework Deal, which was submitted to the US Trade Representative in May, aims to tackle a range of US concerns including non-tariff barriers and longstanding market access issues. It seeks specific exemptions from Sections 232 duties for key export products such as automobiles, auto parts, steel, and aluminium, ensuring these critical sectors can remain competitive in the US market. Meanwhile, the AfDB recommended that the South African government should accelerate structural reforms to offset global challenges. The bank said priority actions should include enhancing governance and operational efficiency of State-Owned Enterprises, particularly of Eskom and rail, ports and pipelines operator Transnet, to restore service reliability and unlock growth. It also called for strengthening local government capacity, addressing spatial inequality, advancing digital government, promoting public-private partnerships (PPPs), and reducing wasteful expenditure through fiscal consolidation are also essential to improve service delivery and public trust. 'To accelerate domestic capital mobilization, reforms must focus on improving governance, enhancing institutional effectiveness, and fostering transparency and accountability. At the same time, promoting industrialization, deepening trade and investment, and building a competitive export base can drive higher growth and employment,' recommended the report. 'Tackling youth unemployment requires focused skills development and capacity building initiatives, aligned with labor market demands, to take full advantage of the country's human capital. 'Trade needs to be diversified under AfCFTA and into new Asian markets. Lastly, improving the business environment by cutting red tape, ensuring fair market access for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and increasing labor market flexibility will support entrepreneurship, firm growth, and job creation — essential ingredients for sustainable economic transformation.' BUSINESS REPORT
