Hankook Tire to suspend U.S. plant amid virus fears

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, said Thursday it will suspend its U.S. plant due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Tennessee plant will stop operations from March 30 through April 7 to keep inventories at manageable levels amid suspensions of car manufacturing plants in Europe, a company spokesperson said.

On Wednesday, the company said it will suspend its Hungary plant in the same period for the same reasons.

"We are considering whether to suspend other plants, as more carmakers are expected to suspend their production facilities amid virus fears," the spokesperson said.

Last week, Hankook Tire's major clients Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. halted most of their plants in Europe to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in line with restrictions on movement and lockdowns.

Hankook Tire has two domestic plants and six overseas plants -- one in the United States, one in Hungary, one in Indonesia and three in China -- whose combined capacity reaches 100 million units.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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