Goodyear pays redundant workforce in tyres

GOODYEAR Tire & Rubber is but one of many companies pulling the plug on strife-riven Venezuela, its plant in the City of Valencia closing its doors this week.

As part of the severance deal, redundant workers received ten tyres each.

More than 1200 employees were laid off, arriving at the plant to find doors locked and a simple message posted on the staff entrance, “Goodyear Venezuela has been forced to cease operations.”

But hey, they’ve got some tyres, which is a big plus, although giving them a number not divisible by four seems a bit of an oversight.

Political unrest and economic conditions brought about, in part, by US sanctions have made Goodyear’s manufacturing facility untenable.

With inflation predicted to top 1 million percent by the end of the year, perhaps a few tyres might not be the comically token gesture they at first appear.

The Venezuelan government has stepped in, asking asked the attorney general's office to launch a criminal investigation into "this act of sabotage and boycott."

It also oversaw the transfer of holdings from tyre manufacturer Pirelli, who pulled the plug on Venezuelan operations in August after 28 years manufacturing in country.

It’s not known whether Pirelli viewed its Venezuelan profits forecast as supersoft, ultrasoft or hypersoft.