Goodyear Wolverhampton Returns to Normal Production Levels

Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK has reinstated the “Guaranteed Working Week” at its Bushbury, Wolverhampton tyre retreading and compounding plant. The company reportedly met with Unions and employee representatives in the few days and says the decision will result in all full-time employees being guaranteed a full 42 hour week with immediate effect.

Goodyear Wolverhampton changed shift patterns and moved to reduced hours, dropping the Guaranteed Working Week in December 2008, during the early stages of the economic downturn. At the time this was said to be in response to severely reduced demand for car and truck tyres.

“In December 2008, this approach allowed us to balance our inventories in line with demand while at the same time minimizing disruption to the work schedule for our associates. Our teams did a superb job in managing shift staffing in a way that ensured that lay-offs were kept to the lowest possible level,” production director, Ian Taylor, stated.

“The commitment of our team has been outstanding, implementing new working practices and adapting to reduced working hours. We appreciate that 2009 was a difficult year for our team at Wolverhampton. However, we exit the recession with a similar sized workforce to the beginning of the downturn, and this was due to the flexibility and proactive attitude of our team. We are confident that our innovative new tyres that help fleets improve vehicle efficiency will help grow demand for our Wolverhampton manufactured range. ”Taylor added.

Goodyear manufactures rubber compound and retreaded truck tyres at the Bushbury Lane site which employs over 300 people. The site’s retreading plant has the capacity to produce 100,000 retreads a year at full production. In 2009 the company invested in new technology which was used in the launch of the Goodyear TreadMax truck tyre range, which is now used by leading fleets across Europe.

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