Goodyear Suspending Topeka Truck Tyre Production – Again

Worsening economic conditions in the US are continuing to affect tyre manufacturers. Goodyear has announced yet another one-week partial shutdown of its Topeka, Kansas factory. Truck radial production will be halted for the week beginning October 13, leaving around 500 workers idled without pay. A spokesperson for the employees’ union, the United Steelworkers, said the shutdown is taking place due to an overabundance of unsold truck tyres in Goodyear’s inventory.

The same section of the Topeka facility was idled during the week of September 22 to 26, although a company spokesman at the time claimed the shutdown was due to disruptions in raw material supply in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.