Vredestein tyre factory in Enschede to close, 500 jobs lost

The Vredestein tire factory in Enschede will close its doors in a year's time, with the loss of around 500 jobs.

The company, which is more than 100 years old, no longer has a future, according to its current owner, India-based Apollo Tyres, which blamed high energy bills and inflation for the decision.

Trade union FNV described the announcement as a “black day” for the generations of people who have worked at the plant. The decision illustrates the Netherlands' “failing industrial strategy,” the union said.

CNV union official Nicole Engmann said workers at the factory had done all they could to stave off disaster. The closure is the “latest example of how the Netherlands is losing its industry,” she said.

Five years ago, the factory workforce was slashed by 750 jobs.

The company produced its first Vredestein cycle tires in 1910 and opened the Enschede plant in 1952. In 2009, it was taken over by Apollo Tyres, which opened a European division in Hungary in 2017.