Yesterday’s revelation that Goodyear was to close its factory in Shah Alam took everyone by surprise, the plant having been a mainstay of the automotive manufacturing scene for the past 52 years. The move sparked furore over large multinational corporations continuing to move manufacturing away from Malaysia, most notably earning a rebuke from Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
The former minister of international trade and industry (MITI) took to Facebook to voice her dismay, saying that it was a shock to read the news. She also urged the government to immediately respond to such developments. “While touting around the billions of possible investment and expectations being mooted and discussed, it is so important that industrial and business entities which are already here do not close shop and leave for other countries.”
Rafidah added that the government needs to note the amount of companies that have shut down their Malaysian operations and understand why they did so. “[Ask] where have they moved to [and] why have they stopped operations in Malaysia; analyse what were their push factors which drove them to shut down and, to add insult to injury, relocate elsewhere.”
It’s important to make a “serious and detail[ed]” analysis on the push factors, as they are important to understand what existing investors find “untenable” about continuing to operate here, Rafidah said. She added that it would be pointless to ask the what-ifs once they are gone.
Rafidah said the government must also do the background work in analysing future memorandums of understanding (MoU) with future investors, making sure that they are serious with their plans and land acquisitions before signing them. This is important to make Malaysia the location of choice for both domestic and foreign investors, she added.
The decision to close the Shah Alam plant was announced by Goodyear Asia Pacific president Nathaniel Madarang in a leaked internal memo. In it, he said that the “difficult but necessary decision” was made as part of the American tyre manufacturer’s Goodyear Forward plan to reduce costs by US$1 billion (RM4.7 billion). The closure, effective June 30, will result in approximately 550 job cuts in the country.
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how many of you still using goodyear these days?
Its very good tyre, price also good. Too good for B60 (include 20 of those M40)
Longtime michellin man since day 1, never use other tyre before, so there is no love lost!
Why no complaint
Jangan Tak SOLAT, WAJID
I would avoid goodyear. Easily bulge and thread cracked easily. Never have such problem with other brands even cheap brands like Silverstone.
Kelakar cybertrooper DAPigs ni. Tiba2 tayar goodyear x bagus. Kaki spin mcm pmx
Goodyear Malaysia has been bleeding since 2017.
We cant expect formula one tyre quality,can we?
The China tyres have made such massive inroads.Just do our due diligence,they r 30 percent cheaper and of boleh pakai quality.Just drive within the speed limits.
Even aircon compressors…many r using China made ones with 90 day warranty.The Nippondensos is 30 to 40 percent more expensive,with no warranty.
yes i agree. experience with goodyear is a nightmare. but, silverstone also bad. the brand is dead and toyo take over. and now goodyear. better use premium tyre like michelin. even used michelin tyre is better.
Refer my name
Anwar menang, investment tak lari
Tayar mahal. Banyak lambakan tayar dari China yang lebih baik
which china tyre? there is someone in fb group said used premium tyre like michelin is better than new china tyre. maximum tyre can be use up to 10 years. he has phd in tyre research whatsover. cant recall his name, but he has tyre review website.
Well what to do, Proton now doing so well but none of their cars are even wrap with the tyres Made in Malaysia by GoodYear ever wondered why?
goodbye goodyear
Because conventional getting only 5.5% . Kena kelong and why stay when you can get better return elsewhere .
the issue here is not whether you use their tyre on your car or not. it is about a lot of people will be left jobless. not only the factory workers, its chain of supply ecosystem as well.
always squeezing the 20% to feed the 80%…siapa pun lari la. boleh je cos this is malaysia.
Why is Rafidah making so much noise? Maybe she won’t make noise if Government give AP permits to import tyres.
Your Excellency Ben Yap
Rafidah is like the KJ dude..must voice out to “stay relevant”.
Yours humbly has been retrenched 3 times in a career spanning 40 years.
Each time,I pick up the pieces,move on,got another job and raised a family,acquire 3 properties ,all loan free and retired now.
In this era of internet,just online your CV to prospective employers,whats so difficult,compared to our time when the manual typewriter is the norm.
Is she trying to imply germent must give them another TONGKAT to stay afloat financially?
Enough of these spoonfeeding,crybaby techniques…all those retrenched..u r much better off than those dying of cancer or terminal diseases.Like what our menteri Johari said…MOVE ON.
1. Share holders demanding too much profits
2. CEO salary too high
3. Management benefits eating into their profits
4. One particular breed unproductive
5. Too many puplic holidays(need to pay overtime)
6. Cost of foreign labour(hiring, logistics, accomodation, social problems, immigration) too costly
Goodyear tyre is really good. I’m very happy with it with my car.
Government starts doing something pls
I noticed proton X50 now using china made tyres. What happened to local tyre makers? Are local cost of manufacturing tyre is way too expensive until imported from china is cheaper?
Miti should go deeper to understand from Goodyear to understand why rubber from msia can be more expensive than from china.. apa sudah jadi? That’s what rafidah is asking. Zafrul hv not answered this question. Just pluck response from Goodyear only. So sad
Dr Li has been telling DRB..cut costs,cut costs at all costs.
Local tyres like Goodyear,Toyo,Silverstone..40% more costly than China tyres.
Can u do the math..P1 selling 150000 vehicles a year…times 4…600,000 tyres..say Rm80 cheaper…savings of RM48 juta annually!
why surprise? i never wanted to use goodyear, thats y .
How can european brands compete with Chines and Thai tires today. No chance. After using the modern reputable chinese tires, people realize the quality is similar to big brands like goodyear and continental but at so much lower price tag. In fact the chinese tire last way longer since many have a blend of semi synthetic rubber which makes it tahan lebih lama. European tires are like butter, cuaca panas it melts and wear off very fast.
ask oppositions buy goodyear, setup the factory and open again to save those 500+…
see how long they will last before close down..
tie politic to race, religion… now swasta close down also they want politic it…
Good idea…Hadi and Muhideen should galvanise crowd funding,take over Goodyear Malaysia..save 550 jobs..so people can call them the new “BOSS ku”..BECAUSE the original BOSSKU is busy lobbying for full pardon,sipping his Starbucks machiatto,with satay.
Good idea so how come PH for 20 years never bought all those factories moving out of Selangor & Penang? Seagate is gone, Motorola is gone, so why DAP did not have this brilliant idea to buyover their factories to keep these jobs going?
They can do bollocks. Tokkok boleh lah.