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Goodyear’s Topeka Plant to Make 200-225 Redundant

In the US, Goodyear’s Topeka, Kansas plant is the latest to usher in a series of buyouts and layoffs, cutting its staff by between 200 and 225. The decision follows the manufacturer’s announcement made in the wake of its 2008 EOY report, which stated that it would be” taking aggressive action… to better match market conditions” by cutting 5,000 jobs in 2009. Steelworkers Local 307 voted in favour of an agreement to change contract regulations relating to staffing and production levels.

In a news release, Local 307 president Robert Tripp said the economic situation, customer demand and product inventory led union workers to agree to lowering the staffing and production level provisions.
“During these discussions the union’s primary focus was to protect each of our members and their families during these uncertain economic times,” he said in a statement. “This agreement was made to improve the viability of the plant and to improve its cost structure so that the Topeka facility shall remain competitive.”

6th March 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Start Danville Layoffs in March

The USW approved an agreement with Goodyear that would put the tyremaker’s Danville plant on eight-hour work shifts, five days a week, and offer 200 buyouts to qualified employees. Over 400 Goodyear employees will be losing their jobs between buyouts and layoffs, a Goodyear spokesperson said. More than 2,400 people work at the plant, which is Danville’s largest employer. According to a letter to employees, the truck side of the plant will be realigned to three eight-hour shifts, five days a week. Currently, the plant operates seven days a week, 24 hours per day, on 12-hour shifts.

In addition, the furlough that had been postponed from 21-28 February has been rescheduled to 21-28 March. There will be another furlough 3-9 August. The new operating schedule will start when employees return to work after the March furlough. The earliest layoffs will not be effective until March 23. Employees who want the buyout package – which offers $2,000 per year, up to $40,000, to employees between the ages of 53 and 55 with at least 28 years of service at the plant – must apply by 5 March. Salaried employees are not eligible for buyouts, but salaried positions will be cut, company officials said. Those employees will be eligible for the Supplemental Compensation Benefit Plan. Salaried position cuts will be announced by 20 March. (Tire Review/Akron)

23rd February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Lays off 67 as US Off Road Tyre Demand Drops

The ripple effect from the downturn in North America’s construction industry is being felt by Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). In response to a decline in demand for construction equipment, BATO is decreasing production of its small and medium off road tyres, and as of March 1 will lay off 67 hourly workers at its Bloomington, Illinois facility.

According to Bridgestone, production must be reduced in order to better align this inventory with demand. “The dramatic downturn in the economy continues to plague every industry, including ours,” said Shawn Rasey, president, Off the Road Tire, U.S. & Canada, Commercial Tire Sales division, BATO.

17th February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Performance Fibers Reduces Salisbury Workforce by 20%

During the last week of January, US based fibre producer Performance Fibers announced it had laid off a fifth of the workforce at its Salisbury, North Carolina facility. The plant, which includes HMSL tyre yarn in its production portfolio, is one of the local area’s ten largest employers – although the precise number of employees affected by the layoffs is not known as Performance Fibers holds the size of its workforce at Salisbury confidential for competitive reasons.

“This reduction in the workforce is part of a year-long effort at Performance Fibers to right-size our manufacturing footprint to better align with the needs of our customers’ demands for our products,” said company spokesman Jay Pomeroy. “While some of these reductions were due to the economy, they are more tied to the long-term strategy of serving our customers and keeping our business profitable.”

2nd February 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Workers in Turkey Demonstrate Against Layoffs

Employees at Pirelli’s facility in Kartepe, Turkey have taken part in a sit-in protest at the factory site after hearing news that 80 workers had been laid off. Workers at the Türk Pirelli factory stopped production late on January 26 and many occupied the factory. According to the Lastik-İş labour union, all 1,150 factory employees took part in the sit-in.

28th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

CTNA Mt. Vernon Factory Not Affected By Cuts, Says Manager

The plant manager at Continental Tire North America’s Mount Vernon facilities has voiced his reassurances following recent news that the parent company plans to reduce its North American workforce. In mid January US media reported the company’s North America CEO Samir Salman as saying Continental AG was moving towards reducing its workforce in this region by 10 per cent during 2009.

27th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Announces Further Redundancies, Layoffs

Nokian Car and Van has responded to reduced demand with a raft of job cuts and temporary layoffs. The company has eliminated a total of 232 jobs, of which 106 are to be covered by pension arrangements. In addition, a further 440 people will be temporarily furloughed in 110 batches over a nine-week cycle, plus 62 more are to be laid off until further notice.

20th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Topy Lays Off 45 at US Steel Wheel Factory

Kentucky, US based newspaper The State Journal reports that Topy America has laid of 45 hourly employees from its Franklin County steel wheel production facility. These redundancies represent approximately 16 per cent of the subsidiary’s Kentucky factory workforce. The company’s other US operations have not been affected.

According to plant director Tom Trzazkus, the layoffs were necessary “due to the current economic conditions and the slowing of sales within the automotive industry.” In addition to the redundancies, a raft of other changes were made “to ensure the continuation of this business in the short term,” a press release sent to the newspaper by Trzazkus said.

13th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

US Tyre Firms Announce Layoffs

The US tyre industry announced over 100 job losses today in both the manufacturing and retail segments. News reports suggest that Titan is to cut 80 jobs from its Freeport, Illinois plant in addition to taking on a six-weeks-on/two-weeks-off schedule, while Les Schwab Tire Centers’ distribution centre in Prineville, Oregon is set to shed 27 employees.

“There’s certainly a level of tentativeness about what the future holds in the short-term,” USW Local 745 President Steve Vanderheyden told Rockford’s WIFR-TV. “There’s been less construction companies willing to buy large mining rigs for example that would have our tires on them.”

6th January 2009/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Planning Job Cuts and Plant Idling, says Union

Job cuts are said to be a possibility at Pirelli & C. SpA. According to Italian labour union Filcem, whose comments have been published by Bloomberg, the company will eliminate approximately 200 administrative jobs in Milan and will probably continue to idle plants to counter a global drop in demand.

19th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Talk of Redundancies at Mount Vernon Mere Rumours, Says CTNA

Circulating talk of imminent redundancies at Continental Tire North America’s Mount Vernon factory are just rumours, a company official reported on November 18. While the company has reduced its temporary workforce by approximately 50 employees, the facilities 2000+ permanent employees have not been affected.

“We have been adjusting our production levels and controlling inventories to bring them in line with where the current market demands are,” Hank Eisenga, vice president for manufacturing at the plant told Illinois newspaper The Southern. “Rumours of major layoffs have been circulating, and that’s not the case. We are reducing some of our temporary workforce but we do not anticipate anything in the nature of layoffs to our permanent workforce.”

19th November 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Production Cuts Mean Layoffs on the Cards

In Finland, Nokian Tyres is blaming the global financial crisis for the need to adjust production and improve productivity at its factory in the city of Nokia. Possible adjustment measures, says the tyremaker, include lay-offs of approximately 1,000 employees working at the factory December 21 to January 11.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Union Reports Layoffs Coming at US Goodyear-Dunlop Factory

The Goodyear-Dunlop tyre manufacturing plant in Tonawanda, New York is soon to experience its first round of layoffs in nearly 30 years, say union officials. According to the Buffalo News, they indicate that around 100 people at the 1,100-worker facility may lose their jobs.

31st October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Cuts at Third BFGoodrich Factory Announced

Michelin owned BFGoodrich Tire has sent notice to a third US factory that nearly half its workforce will be idled because of decreased product demand. Employees at the BFGoodrich factory in Woodburn, Indiana may not have such a merry Christmas after being informed on October 24 that up to 40 per cent of workers could be laid off for two months, starting November 1.

This latest announcement comes on top of similar layoffs at the company’s two facilities in Alabama. Plans to reduce output at the Tuscaloosa and Opelika sites, along with that at Woodburn, will affect about 1,500 workers in total.

28th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Production Cutbacks Imminent at BFGoodrich Tuscaloosa Factory

BFGoodrich is said to be laying off several hundred employees at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama factory, effective November 1, and significantly reducing tyre production over the next eight weeks. Local newspaper the Montgomery Advertiser reports BFGoodrich-Michelin spokeswoman Lynn Slovak as saying the layoffs would be temporary.

27th October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors