Apollo Tyres NL BV has formally submitted a Request for Advice to the Works Council regarding its intention to cease tyre production and related operations at its Enschede facility in the Netherlands by the summer of 2026. Employees were informed of the proposed decision during a recent town hall meeting.
The move follows an extensive evaluation and is prompted by a combination of persistent challenges, including rising macro-economic pressures, significant increases in energy and labour costs, and reduced demand for Spacemaster and agricultural tyres. These issues, compounded by intense pricing competition from low-cost manufacturers, have rendered operations at the Enschede plant economically unsustainable. With no signs of cost relief on the horizon, the company has concluded that maintaining long-term profitable production at the site is not viable.
“Submitting the Request for Advice to the Work’s Council on the intended decision to discontinue production has been enormously difficult”, said Benoit Rivallant, President, ATNL. “In the last couple of years, we have implemented several initiatives to reduce costs at Enschede. These initiatives resulted in some savings but most of these were completely negated due to the ever-increasing inflation. After thorough investigation we saw no other option than to recommend the discontinuation of the production activities at Enschede as the Management Board of Apollo Tyres NL BV.”
“We take our obligations toward our employees and the Work Council very seriously. We have engaged with them in line with these obligations and will continue to do so. We will also be in communication with customers, suppliers and other parties across the value chain and will continue to do business as usual. There is no change in our working relationship, and we continue to focus on providing exceptional customer service. The execution of the intended decision is subject to completion of the Works Council consultation process and supervisory board approval.”
Apollo Tyres NL BV is a Dutch manufacturer of pneumatic tyres for cars and agricultural vehicles. The company is based in Enschede and part of Apollo Tyres Ltd, which is headquartered in Gurugram, India and is one of the leading tyre manufacturers worldwide.
