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Cooper Announces Strategies to Counter Raw Materials Shortage

Raw material shortages and ‘soft demand’ in the North American market are the factors behind Cooper Tire & Rubber’s October 1 announcement that it would ‘adjust’ production facilities at its US facilities. The company says hurricanes in the Gulf Coast areas have affected its suppliers’ ability to provide sufficient raw materials to maintain full production at all US facilities, and thus materials will be directed to those plants currently producing items demanded by customers.

2nd October 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Point-S and Team Collaborate in Fleet Joint Venture

Over the weekend two of Germany’s largest independent dealer cooperatives, point S and Team, negotiated the terms of a joint venture that will see the two companies cooperate in the local fleet business. A letter of intent relating to what one might call the “team S” joint venture was signed this morning (Monday 29 September 2008) and will take effect 1 January 2009. The 50:50 joint venture will cover the area of fleet, large-scale sales and key account business. The negotiations were led by Juergen Pischinger and Peter Lüdorf and sought to synergise the benefits of Team’s strength in the commercial vehicle tyre business and point-S’s in passenger car tyres.

Between them the two cooperatives run over 1,100 service stations across Germany and thus have broad market coverage. Details of the name and headquarters of the new joint venture and personnel consequences are not yet clear, however layoffs are not planned. Instead the company hopes to operate a European-wide service in the future.

29th September 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Notifies Tyler Plant of More Layoffs

Employees at the Goodyear plant in Tyler, Texas have been given notice of further upcoming redundancies. According to Harold Sweat, president of United Steelworkers Local 746L, the redundancies will take place some time between September 22 and October 6 and include about 70 people.

Goodyear has issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice of the layoffs, which it refers to as a “permanent separation.” This is the second WARN notice received by the Tyler plant within two months. The notice also contained a phrase saying the plant “will be permanently closed,” said Sweat.

24th July 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

USW Reacts to Taylor Freeport Threat

Reacting to last week’s news that Titan International Chairman Morry Taylor threatened to reduce the workforce at its Freeport, Illinois, plant, USW Executive Vice President Ron Hoover issued this statement:

“The USW international, including myself, supported Titan’s purchase of the Freeport facility (from Goodyear), and I participated in the bargaining to accomplish the transaction. These negotiations were no different than most. Both parties had specific issues to address at the bargaining table.

22nd January 2008/by Tyrepress Editors

Reorganisation will Reduce Michelin’s Capex, says Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank has provided comment on the recently announced Michelin closures and restructuring. According to the bank’s Equity Research division, the closure of Michelin’s factory in Toul, France and the passenger tyre division of its Lasarte, Spain plant will allow the company’s Capex in Europe to be lowered by 30 per cent while tackling the pressing issue of labour costs, which are currently 50 per cent higher than Michelin’s global average.

A reported 830 workers will lose their jobs as a result of the Toul closure, and a further 500 layoffs will take place when PCR production ends in Lasarte. According to Deutsche Bank the Michelin reorganisation in Europe will ultimately lead to a better equilibrium between production and sales for the continent – at present Europe represents 70 per cent of the group’s production but only 50 per cent of sales. The closures and restructuring will also in part address the imbalance of scale faced by Michelin’s European facilities, which are two to three times smaller than what is considered optimal – 8 to 10 million units for a PCR factory and 2 million units for one producing truck tyres.

5th October 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear Release Statement Regarding Ledbetter Lawsuit

In light of the widespread media attention the pay discrimination case involving former Goodyear employee Lily Ledbetter has received, the US tyremaker has been prompted to release a statement outlining the company’s position on the matter. The statement reads as follows:

First and foremost, let us assure you that Goodyear has a long-standing policy prohibiting discrimination in employment and pay.

Goodyear encourages associates to report concerns as soon as possible, so they can be fairly reviewed and remedied. It’s easiest and simplest to correct a problem early, before it grows into a bigger problem years later. We encourage you to access our compliance policies.

Second, there are just a few facts from the case we’d like to highlight. Goodyear presented evidence at trial supporting Ms. Ledbetter’s pay level. During her employment, she had two extended layoffs and was not eligible for pay increases those years. In other years, Goodyear showed that Ms. Ledbetter and lower-rated male supervisors received comparable increases. Like most companies, pay increases at Goodyear are based on performance. In fact, there was a judicial finding of no discrimination with respect to the merit increases Ms. Ledbetter received in the years just before she took an early retirement.

26th June 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Workers to Vote on Remuneration Scheme

At present Bridgestone and union officials are negotiating a proposed contract that could potentially see the pay of workers at a US Bridgestone plant become tied to their productivity. The new contract at the Bridgestone Firestone facility in La Vergne, Tennessee needs to be agreed upon by mid-August, and while Bridgestone officials claim that paying individual workers bonuses based on the number of tyres they produce will increase pay while making the company more profitable, the USW Local 1155, who represents the plant, has reservations about switching to this type of incentive system.

If plant workers vote in favour of the contract, the La Vergne facility will become the last remaining unionised Bridgestone tyre and inner tube plant in the US to switch to this system of remuneration. Workers and management were given 120 days to work out and vote upon an incentive plan, and while Bridgestone has made no concrete statements regarding job cuts if they do not vote in favour, company spokesman Dan McDonald said “if they don’t accept, it opens up the possibility of layoffs.”

29th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Texarkana Cuts Continue; 150 More on Lay Off

(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. is continuing with its plans to convert its Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre plant to a so-called “flex plant,” and will lay off some 150 workers there this weekend. The layoffs are part of the 400 to 500 workers Cooper planned to put on furlough at the plant. According to local media reports, some of the newly laid off workers may be called back sooner as Cooper sales have increased. In addition, the reports said, the number of workers furloughed is fewer than previously estimated.

24th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Pirelli Agent in Ethiopia Lays off 124

Trans Ethiopia, exclusive agent of Pirelli Tyre in Ethiopia and a subsidiary of EFFORT, laid off 124 employees from its Mekele and Adama branches. The Adama branch released 29 employees while the Mekelle branch released 95. The latter were released two weeks prior to the employees at the Adama branch office.

The Addis Fortune reported that the company cited severe losses and restructuring as the cause of the layoffs. Fortune said that it has been two years since the company has even turned a profit. Averaging about 13 million ethiopian birr (approximately £750 million) in revenues a year, the company pays 25 million birr in salaries annually.

8th May 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Tire Distributes Layoff Notices

Employees at Cooper Tire’s factory in Texarkana, Arkansas have been notified that the layoffs anticipated since their initial announcement last year will begin this May. Letters stating that the layoffs will take place on May 26 have been distributed to plant workers.

In September 2006 Cooper Tire announced it planned to convert the factory into a ‘flex plant’, at the expense of at least 400 jobs. However company officials now believe the layoffs may not be so extensive due to recent market changes and attrition at the plant.

30th March 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Firestone Unit Laying Off Workers

(Akron/Tire Review) The State newspaper in South Carolina has reported that Firestone Building Products is laying off some 52 workers at its Kingstree, S.C., roofing products plant. The layoffs are reportedly due to a downturn in commercial construction.

The plant employs 278 workers, according to The State.

1st February 2007/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper Confirms Texarkana Cuts

(Akron/Tire Review) Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. confirmed in recent federal securities filings that it will cut some 500 jobs at its Texarkana, Arkansas, tyre plant in a move to reduce operating costs. Cooper said the layoffs should be completed by the end of May 2007, according to reports, and will result in a production reduction of approximately 3.3 million tyres per year at the plant.

3rd November 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Bandag’s Third Quarter Figures: Europe Remains the Problem

Bandag, Inc. was able to increase its turnover in the third quarter to $260.2 million; up by 5.2 per cent compared to the second quarter of this year and reaching a new record high. Compared to the same quarter last year turnover grew by 6.1 per cent. However, net income plummeted by 50.8 per cent. Bandag, Inc. based in Muscatine, Iowa, only achieved a net income of $9.2 million compared to $18.7 million for the same quarter last year. This net income equals a 3.5 per cent margin on Bandag’s turnover. Compared to the previous quarter the net income only fell by 12.4 per cent from $10.5 million. Obviously Europe remains the problem, as can be read up in Bandag’s current quarter report.

20th October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone Firestone Begins Dayton Plant Closure Programme

Back in April, Bridgestone Firestone North America gave notice that the Dayton plant in Oklahoma City would be closed down by the end of the year. The first tranche of layoffs has begun, with around 400 of the 1,400-strong workforce being told that they will lose their jobs by the end of this month.

19th October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors

Goodyear to Layoff 330 Due to Strike

(Akron/Tire Review) With most of its North American tyre plants on limited production, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is temporarily laying off some 330 hourly workers at its Asheboro, North Carolina, steel wire plant. The tyremaker is reducing steel wire production due to the United Steelworkers’ strike. The temporary layoffs will begin Friday and will last until the strike is settled and Goodyear’s tire plants are back to full production.

12th October 2006/by Tyrepress Editors