US Goodyear Plant Gets Help, Another Faces Sharp Cuts

One Goodyear tyre plant is getting financial assistance, while another may see sharp reductions, according to various news reports. The Fayetteville Observer reported that Goodyear will receive $1 million over the next decade from the city of Fayetteville, the money intended to help retain jobs at the plant. Meanwhile, Goodyear plans to announce a restructuring and cost-cutting plan on 18 February, when company executives and union leaders meet later this week to discuss the future of the company’s Danville, Virginia plant.

Goodyear executives and union officials have this week held a series of meetings concerning the future of the tyre maker’s Danville, Virginia truck tyre plant. The Danville Register & Bee reported that company executives arrived Monday and are expected to be in Danville through Wednesday.

The meeting follows last week’s session where United Steelworkers Local 831 officials were told that recent furloughs have not done enough to reduce huge inventories. The last temporary layoff is scheduled to take place 21-28 February. The plant currently employs some 2,000 workers.

Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear says restructuring plans will be announced on 18 February when yearly and fourth-quarter results are released. The Danville plant has at least 2,000 workers and is the community’s largest employer.

Fayetteville incentives

At Goodyear’s Fayetteville plant, the city’s agreement, reports the Observer, is part of an incentive package that includes $30 million from the state and some $7 million from Cumberland County over 10 years. In return, Goodyear must spend at least $200 million modernising the 40-year-old plant while retaining at least 2,000 jobs. The plant currently employs an estimated 3,000 workers.