Conti-owned Gislaved, Sweden, tire plant in jeopardy

GISLAVED, Sweden (Dec. 11)—The Swedish subsidiary of Continental A.G. is negotiating with local trade unions about closing its Gislaved tire plant by July 2002. A shutdown of passenger tire production would affect 774 jobs, according to a statement from Conti. The action follows Conti's decision to take a critical look at all its production sites as part of a restructuring to improve the profitability and efficiency of its global operations. The company blamed weaker demand for passenger tires and a drop in automobile output for the restructuring. Gislaved, with an annual capacity of 4 million tires, is the smallest Conti unit, and the company has stated it will focus on production plants with an output of at least 8 million tires per year. The warehouse at Gislaved with studding, wheel mounting and R&D activities, could continue in some form, said the German tire maker. The decision won't have any impact on the Gislaved brand and the sales company in Gothenburg, Sweden, Conti said.