Cooper Tire & Rubber Company announced April 3 that its tire manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico will remain closed for at least another two weeks.
The process of phasing down production at its U.S. plants began March 21 and will proceed on a rolling schedule over the coming week, with facilities expected to be closed for two to three weeks. Phasing down production at Cooper’s European plants, located in Melksham, England and Kruševac, Serbia, will begin in the coming days, and each facility is expected to be closed for at least three weeks, the company said. Cooper will continue to closely monitor the situation and adjust timelines as necessary.
Cooper’s plants in China, which reopened several weeks ago and have continued to ramp up production remain in operation.
Cooper said it is also closely monitoring supply chain and product inventory levels as the company focuses on continuing to serve customers. Cooper says it believes it currently has a sufficient supply of products and will continue to operate distribution centers until further notice to meet customer needs.
As the coronavirus has continued to spread across the globe, Cooper has put in place measures to protect employees and meet the needs of all stakeholders including travel restrictions, remote working, social distancing, additional cleaning and disinfecting of facilities, limited visitor access and other necessary steps, which all remain in effect.
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