Managers locked out in Apollo/Cooper protest

Resistance to the acquisition of Cooper Tire and Rubber by Apollo Tyres continues unabated, with workers at the Cooper Chengshan joint venture factory in China's Shandong province locking out their US managers in protest against the deal.
Workers say that the takeover will put their jobs at risk and, according to Yue Chunxue, director of the labour union at the plant, foreign managers could face the risk of "bodily injuries". He added: "unless the deal is cancelled, we will continue to boycott it until the very end. A three-month strike ended on August 17th but the union is continuing to boycott work on Cooper-branded products.

Chengshan Group, the local partner in the joint venture, is also against the deal, Liu Shuhong, a legal representative at the Chinese company, said. Liu said the company had not been consulted on the acquisition. Last month, Chengshan filed a lawsuit against Cooper in a local court, seeking to dissolve the joint venture.

Apollo has said that the combined company would get around 18 per cent of its revenue from China. Cooper shareholders are due to vote on the deal on September 30th.