Goodyear Indonesia suspends production to comply with PSBB policy

• Apr 23, 2020

Publicly listed tire manufacturer PT Goodyear Indonesia has temporarily shut down its production activity to comply with the large-scale social restriction (PSBB) measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The publicly listed firm halted its production on April 20 until May 3 in a bid to comply with the recent PSBB policy applied in the Bogor city area in West Java where the company is located. The factory’s temporary shutdown is longer than Bogor’s PSBB policy, which is due to expire on April 29.

“Until today, we are still assessing the impact of the COVID-19 situation and we hope that the temporary production halt will not affect the company’s continuity,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday posted on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) website.

The company went on to say that the decision was taken to maintain the health and safety of its employees. The measure is also meant to help the company address the market changes during the unfavorable global conditions.

Indonesia’s factory activity contracted to a record level in the first half of the year as a result of weak demand and disruption to the supply chain against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. Bank Indonesia’s Prompt Manufacturing Index (PMI-BI) was recorded at 45.64 percent; an index reading above 50 indicates expansion while below 50 is a contraction.

Despite the production suspension, Goodyear head of marketing and corporate communication Wicaksono Soebroto said on Thursday that the company’s activities were still running as usual with some limitations.

“Other supporting roles are still working from home,” he told The Jakarta Post via text message. “However, for warehousing and shipping, employees still have to come to the office within a limited schedule while applying preventive measures.”

Wicaksono added that all of the company’s employees continued to be paid despite the temporary production shut down.

As of 1.26 p.m., Goodyear’s share price was unchanged at Rp 1,510 (9.7 US cents) apiece.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/23/goodyear-indonesia-suspends-production-to-comply-with-psbb-policy.html