Apollo Tyres NL has announced plans to close its Dutch plant at Enschede with the loss of 500 jobs. The nearly 80-year-old facility looks set to close by the summer of 2026.
The intended decision to shut down the facility is driven by continued high energy and labour costs in the Netherlands, a decline in demand for Spacemaster and Vredestein agricultural tyres and pricing pressure from low-cost competitors. The high-cost situation is expected to continue, therefore long-term profitable production at Enschede is no longer feasible.
According to Apollo Tyres NL president Benoit Rivallant, the company has implemented several initiatives to reduce costs at the plant in the past two years.
“These initiatives resulted in some savings but most of these were completely negated due to the ever-increasing inflation,” he said. “After thorough investigation we saw no other option than to recommend the discontinuation of the production activities at Enschede.”
The closure is still subject to consultation. Until the process concludes, the company has stated that production and business operations will continue at the 40ha site without interruption. It is believed that the entire production process will then be transferred to an Apollo factory in Hungary, and to facilities in India.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save 47%.
