Goodyear warehouse closure: 15 job cuts, or almost 300?

According to an article published by our German sister site, Reifenpresse.de, the number of job losses through the closure of Goodyear’s warehouse in Philippsburg, Germany may be significantly more than the 15 jobs that the tyre maker mentioned last week. Since 1 January 2020, the facility has been operated by third-party firm Geis Tyre Warehousing GmbH, which also operates other warehouses for Goodyear in Germany and Luxembourg. Geis Tyre Warehousing told Reifenpresse.de that it currently employs almost 300 people in Philippsburg.

The omission of these workers from Goodyear’s statement of 28 April can be understood in the context of the information that Goodyear Germany provided to Reifenpresse.de: “The warehouse in Philippsburg is operated by an external service provider, so all questions about external employees should be directed to the company Geis.” Goodyear confirms that it contractually employs 37 people in Philippsburg. Of these, 15 positions are to be restructured or – in plain English – cut.

Reifenpresse.de comments that when talking to those affected, future prospects don’t look overly rosy for the “just under 300” Geis employees, either. At any rate, Reifenpresse.de notes that they expect to be laid off. For its part, Geis Group has no concrete plans for the warehouse’s future use. It states that the facility “is owned by third parties” and therefore it “cannot make any statement” about future plans.