NUMSA concerned over workers' jobs after Goodyear South Africa announces EC plant closure
The move is expected to affect about 907 workers at the company’s Uitenghage plant in the Eastern Cape.
FILE: Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Workers union NUMSA has voiced concern over Goodyear South Africa's announcement to discontinue its manufacturing operations in the country.
The move is expected to affect about 907 workers at the company’s Uitenghage plant in the Eastern Cape.
NUMSA says it has received a section 189 retrenchment notice from the company's managing director confirming the impending closure.
Spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says the decision will have severe consequences for workers and their families in a region already struggling with a high unemployment rate.
"Whilst the outlook is bleak, as Numsa we stand ready to so everything we can to defend the jobs of our members, and to do all we can to negotiate fair severance packages. The dates of the first consultation will be communicated in due course."
The plant's closure follows that of Contitech, a subsidiary of Continental, further exacerbating job losses in the Eastern Cape tyre and rubber industry.