The union says it was recently served with a Section 189A notice, confirming the company's intention to shut down its operations in the province, affecting over 900 employees.

According to NUMSA, the closure will not only contribute to SA’s spiralling unemployment crisis, particularly in the Eastern Cape where the jobless rate already stands at 41.9%, but will also send shockwaves through related industries and small businesses tied to Goodyear’s supply chain.

“The worry that we have as an organisation is that this decision is not just going to affect the jobs of workers at Goodyear directly, but any of the other jobs that are linked in any way to the value chain,” said NUMSA Spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola.

“There are smaller companies, for example, that provide services to Goodyear and the closure of that plant will mean that those companies are also likely to be affected. So we are actually likely to see far more than 900 jobs being affected by this decision,” she added.

Goodyear has not publicly disclosed the reasons for the closure, but industry analysts have pointed to ongoing global economic pressures, increased operational costs, and stiff competition from cheap tyre imports as likely contributors.

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--