Dunlop Motorsport has confirmed it will close its tyre production factory in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, with 300 jobs still in the balance. The news follows the announcement last May that the company’s lease would not be renewed and that site was being sold to Jaguar Land Rover.
Goodyear Dunlop says it remains committed to the production of motorsport tyres and is still in talks with Birmingham City Council to find another suitable site in the region.
It is understood production will end in May, ahead of closure in September.
While the company has nowhere to move to in Birmingham, marketing and communications director James Bailey said it was not a foregone conclusion that the jobs would be made redundant.
He said: “We have always said that first of all we wanted to stay in Birmingham, which is why we made a long-term offer to stay on the site.
“We have been looking at local options and have been working closely with Birmingham City Council and private property agencies to look at local sites.
“It is now down to the board to make a decision. Now we have got the information that there is a three-month extension that will help to make that decision more quickly.”
The company has not confirmed a date for the end of production, but Bailey confirmed that it would have to be in time to clear the site by September.
There is a factory in France to which production could be shifted, but it does not have the capacity of the Birmingham site.
Jaguar Land Rover purchased the site, off Ashold Farm Road, in Castle Bromwich, from its landlord Northern Ireland Local Government pension scheme as part of ambitious expansion plans.
About 180 people work at Dunlop Motorsport on the site, near the firm’s TyreFort HQ, as well as a further 120 workers in other functions.
jobs in balance as Dunlop plant faces closure
