The Rosava plant in Bila Tserkva has halted operations — the largest and only Ukrainian manufacturer of automotive tires, which has held a key position in the domestic industry for over half a century. The enterprise, which has been in operation since 1972, produced both summer and winter tires, meeting the needs of the domestic market and exporting to 50 countries worldwide.
This is reported by Finway
Mass Layoffs and New Conditions
The closure of the plant has been a blow to nearly 1,200 employees, for whom the beginning of April marked the last working month. Instead of the standard redundancy procedure, employees were forced to submit resignation letters “by mutual consent” or agree to significantly worsened working conditions. Conditions for those who did not agree to resign were drastically altered: the working day was reduced to one hour, and tasks could include unskilled labor that did not match their specialization.
Some staff members were transferred to other organizations, and certain production lines, particularly those for manufacturing large and agricultural tires, are likely to continue operations under different legal entities.
Impact on the City and Uncertainty About the Future
The future of the plant, its property complex, and equipment is currently unknown. For Bila Tserkva, the shutdown of such a significant enterprise means serious economic losses: the plant has been one of the largest employers in the city and a substantial taxpayer for decades. The owners of Rosava have not yet provided official explanations regarding the reasons for the complete cessation of production.
At the same time, there is a trend in Ukraine towards the scaling back of operations at other industrial enterprises, including mass reductions in electricity production at Teplokomunenergo facilities due to government innovations in the gas supply sector.