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The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber said it remains concerned about the viability of the country’s manufacturing sector as a result of many “basic enablers” not being in place.
The Chamber was commenting on the news that Goodyear has initiated a section 189A process to restructure its manufacturing operations in Kariega.
CEO Denise Van Huysteen said this comes just months after Conti-tech announced that it was closing its plant, and the Bridgestone plant closure over four years ago.
She said this highlighted the massive pressure which tyre manufacturers are under due to enabling environment.
Van Huysteen said these issues include logistic challenges, the lack of service delivery at a municipal level and the inadequate maintenance of electricity, water and sanitation infrastructure, among others.
She also pointed to cheap tyre imports, increased safety and security costs, and above-inflation input costs for essential services such as electricity, as well as cheap tyre imports flooding the market.
“We continue to remain concerned about the viability of the manufacturing sector, due to these basic enablers not being in place, as well as the impact of the USA’s tariffs policies on global manufacturing footprints,” she said.
Metal workers' union Numsa said it had not received official notification regarding the notice and declined to comment at this stage.
This is a developing story.
