Layoffs Announced at Closing MNA Factory

In preparation for the closure of its Opelika, Alabama factory at the end of October, Michelin North America's BFGoodrich Tire Manufacturing has announced the layoffs of approximately 350 production employees, effective October 2. According to Lynn Mann, MNA director of external communications, the layoffs are part of the company’s “rampdown activities”.

The plant closure was announced in April and is, says Michelin, part of a restructuring plan for Michelin’s manufacturing operations in response to the “unprecedented drop in market demand.” This drop in market demand “has created significant overcapacity in the North American tyre markets that Michelin does not expect to rebound in the near term,” company officials said in April.