Goodyear Malaysia Is Shutting Down Its Shah Alam Plant This Year

Goodyear Malaysia has announced the closure of its Shah Alam production plant.

After decades of operation, Goodyear Malaysia has finally decided to pull the plug on its Shah Alam production plant. This decision is part of the Goodyear Forward region-wide transformation plan, where the American tyremaker is set to optimise its footprint and portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region.

As revealed by the company’s internal memo that has circulated online, the Shah Alam plant closure will take place later this year on June 30, with the whole plant shutdown expected to be completed by the end of the year. This imminent shutdown will approximately affect more than 550 personnel, as indicated by the viral internal memo.

“Goodyear has made the difficult but necessary decision to close our manufacturing plant in Shah Alam, Malaysia, effective June 30, 2024, with closure expected to be complete by the end of the year,” said Goodyear Asia-Pacific president Nathaniel Madarang in the viral internal memo.

“These decisions are not made lightly, but we need to take them to advance the long-term interests of both our business and customers. Thank you for your continued focus on delivering results and for all you do to make Goodyear successful.”

As of writing, Goodyear Malaysia has yet to put up any official statements regarding the authenticity of this circulated internal memo, but given that the tyremaker has announced its cost-cutting plan since last year, the Shah Alam plant’s closure is more of a case of ‘when’, rather than ‘would’.

Sales for new Goodyear tyres in Malaysia won't get affected by this production plant closure.

It is also important to note that the Shah Alam plant closure does not affect the sales and services of Goodyear tyres in Malaysia, meaning that all Goodyear tyres sold here will be sourced from other Goodyear production facilities like those in Indonesia, Thailand, China, and the United States.

Established back in 1972, Goodyear Malaysia’s Shah Alam plant is one of the few dedicated tyre manufacturing plants currently operational in the country. With the plant poised to be shut down later this year, this leaves only Toyo and Continental as the sole two tyre companies still operating their production facilities locally.