The conflict between the tire manufacturer Bridgestone and the Single Union of Tire Workers of Argentina (SUTNA) went into a parenthesis. In a first hearing that was held at the Ministry of Labor of the Nation, the Government managed to force a truce between the parties to avoid layoffs and strikes while defining whether it accepts the extension of the Crisis Preventive Procedure requested by the multinational.
In the meeting cited by the labor portfolio, the company directors and the leaders of the union headed by Alejandro Crespo ratified their positions against state arbitration.
The company confirmed the argument that faces a critical outlook for its production for the coming year and that it will not be able to maintain its operation if it does not reduce its staff.
“We find ourselves in a situation of deepening distortion factors about the local manufacturing process. Given this contraction in consumption and inventory level, Bridgestone must further reduce its production levels adapting it to the best demand scenarios,” expressed the business representatives.
From the union, they once again rejected this argument: “These attempts to reopen the crisis preventive procedure They are illegal and inadmissible and there are no real objective causes that justify them.. For this reason, we strictly reject any attempt to cut personnel.”
The SUTNA remains in a state of alert and mobilization since last week and threatens to summon force measures in all companies if Bridgestone applies layoffs. According to union estimates, they are around 290 threatened jobs.
In the meeting that took place at the headquarters at 650 Leandro Alem Avenue, the labor ministry officials sought to convince the parties not to adopt drastic measures for the moment. That’s why, They summoned the Crisis Unitan administrative analysis body within the Secretariat to evaluate the situation and issue a decision on the request for extension of the PPC made by the company. The regulations provides for sanctions for any party that violates the truce.
The background to the conflict between Bridgestone and the workers
The Crisis Preventive Procedure (PPC) is an emergency regime, which Bridgestone already used in 2024 and gives the company a legal framework to implement an adjustment plan in their production and employment levels.
SUTNA’s reaction to this request was immediate: “Bridgestone Argentina, in a totally inappropriate manner, requests an extension of the fraudulent Preventive Crisis Procedure already closed, announces its intention to carry out 290 new layoffs and the rupture of the Collective Labor Agreement, increasing irrationally production rates and implementing a salary reduction by eliminating all types of additional benefits,” he said in a statement.
“We demand that this absurd extension request be dismissed, we announce that will be responded harshly collectively any attempt at dismissal, and that no reduction of rights will be accepted,” he added.
The company’s position is reflected in an official statement released last week: “Bridgestone Argentina has requested the extension of the Crisis Preventive Procedure (PPC) presented at the time to the Ministry of Human Capital, communicating the objective of reduce production to meet expected demand by 2025ensuring compliance with our current commercial agreements. “We are determined to minimize the impact this decision will have on our employees, customers and the community.”
Furthermore, the company based this request on a situation that has as a precedent the extensive union conflict of 2022, which deteriorated the export base of its business and that still has repercussions on its operation: “The business and the market are challenging and the outlook for 2025 looks even more difficultwhich forces us to be realistic about the current situation of the company and evaluate the possible steps that can be taken to optimize the structure and reprioritize key projects.”
In that sense, he added that “after extensive planning to ensure the long-term vitality of the company, Bridgestone has evaluated how to best implement cost reduction measures, including staff reductions in its corporate, sales and manufacturing operations throughout America.”
Bridgestone manufactures tires at its plant in Llavallol, province of Buenos Aires, where 700 people work and has four production lines (cars, trucks, agricultural and off-road). From there comes the production that supplies the local market and also a portion that is exported.
As the company timely argued, all the export agreements it had signed to supply destinations such as Brazil and the United States They fell in the last two years due to non-compliance forced by union conflicts. And now it faces 2025 no export agreements in force. For this reason, it decided to focus only on the local replacement market and the automotive industry.
Bridgestone is, along with Fate, one of the largest tire manufacturers in Argentina. In October of last year, both companies asked the Ministry of Labor to implement the Crisis Preventive Procedure, which was granted and allowed Bridgestone reduce its workforce by 450 people.
At that time, Bridgestone argued: “Since the extensive union conflict of 2022, we suffered a loss of corporate confidence that generated the transfer of export volume from Argentina to other plants in the region. As a consequence, today we are exporting only 10% of what we projected.”
According to figures provided by the company, at the beginning of 2022 it added new export agreements for more than 1.2 million tires per year. But he could not meet the promised amounts and the agreements fell through. And he blamed the union conflict that lasted 5 months for this non-compliance. Furthermore, he assured that he was never able to recover his pre-conflict productivity, since he went from manufacturing more than 12,500 tires a day to just over 10,000.
Now, with the configuration of the new scenario for 2025 the multinational of Japanese origin asks to re-obtain the PPC umbrella to adapt operations at its Llavallol factory and adjust its employee complement.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
