Historic Argentine tire manufacturer Fate shuts down local production

Updated Wednesday 2.30 p.m. Historic Argentine tire manufacturer Fate announced on Wednesday that it will shut down operations at its Buenos Aires factory after more than 80 years. According to Argentine outlets, the closing leaves more than 900 employees out of a job. The company is among many in the Argentine industry that are suffering President Milei’s economic policies. In this case, a surge in cheaper imports (Chinese tires) as well as a drop in purchasing power which has relegated tire changes in favor of more pressing needs. A few hours after the announcement, the Labor Secretariat issued an order calling the union and the company to return to the negotiating table and roll back the situation to its pre-conflict state until a solution is reached. This process is known as conciliación obligatoria — mandatory conciliation. In the communiqué informing the mandatory conciliation, the Human Capital Ministry’s Labor Secretariat explained it has been intervening in the conflict since 2024, when the firm requested the opening of a preventive crisis procedure in order to face a declining situation.  In October 2025, the company requested an extension of a temporary agreement it had reached with the workers, citing “a worsening of its economic situation,” according to the government’s statement. However, a new deal was not signed. Fate’s announcement Fate released a statement confirming the news, blaming the closure on “changing market conditions,” which “force [them] to face the future from a different approach.”  The tire manufacturer won’t file for bankruptcy, nor is it taking measures to prevent a crisis. It announced that all employees will be paid severance in accordance with current law and that all commitments to providers, banks, and others will be fulfilled. “Through over eight decades, Fate led the industry through constant investment, technological development, and a commitment to high quality,” read the statement. It went on to list the company’s accomplishments as a pioneer in the production of radial tires in Argentina and the exportation of its products to Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. “We would like to express our deepest gratitude to those who accompanied us on this journey: our employees, customers, suppliers, and all those who placed their trust in our industry,” the statement ended. Fate, an acronym for Fábrica Argentina de Telas Engomadas (Argentine Rubber Fabric Factory), was founded in 1940. The company is controlled by the Madanes Quintanilla family, with Javier Madanes Quintanilla as president. The plant, located on a 40-hectare site in Virreyes, in the northern Buenos Aires metropolitan area, has more than 157,000 square meters of covered space and was equipped to produce more than 5 million tires per year.  The announcement is the most recent sign of the plunge Argentina’s industry has taken since President Milei came into office. In 2024, the first year of Milei’s presidency, the industry fell by a whopping 9.2%, according to the INDEC, the government’s statistics agency. Last year fared no better, with the manufacturing industry steadily declining year-on-year between July and December.  By late 2025, a total of 47,000 jobs in manufacturing had been lost since December 2023. “We found out when we arrived in the morning” According to Argentine Tire Workers’ Union Secretary General Alejandro Crespo, Fate workers only learned of the decision to close the factory when they arrived at their working stations on Wednesday.  “People need to realize how massive this situation is,” Crespo told news outlets at the factory. “This is a factory that has been producing tires for 80 years and has gone through all of the country’s ups and downs.” He insisted that the Madanes Quintanilla family “built one of the biggest economic holdings in the country through the factory and its workers.” The latter, he added, found “nothing but a few lines of text” when they arrived to work. “This leaves hundreds and hundreds of families unemployed,” he said. “Not just the workers but also truck drivers, as well as cleaning and delivery staff. Lots of people within the biggest industrial parks in the country, days away from a labor reform.” President Javier Milei’s labor reform was passed in the Senate last week, with 42 votes in favor and 30 against, following a 12-hour debate. It will now be sent to the lower house for final approval. Crespo added that the workers’ union will “take all necessary measures, possible or impossible” to ensure that every worker is reinstated at their work station.