Bridgestone Americas lays off 91 at OTR plant

ERJ staff report (TB)

Bloomington, Illinois - Bridgestone Americas laid off 91 workers at its Bloomington OTR tyre plant 12 July due to the downturn in the construction and mining markets.

The Nashville, Tennessee-based tyre maker also temporarily shut down the plant for one week on 5 July and said it anticipates calling back 40 employees on 1 Aug.

“Based on inventory levels and industry demand, we currently plan on laying off 19 employees on 15 Aug,” the company said in a statement. A spokesman added that the decision was “painful” but OE and replacement tyre demand has fallen off.

“We will continue to evaluate the marketplace, demand and our inventory levels, and will make future production-based decisions-up or down-that help our company survive this global financial crisis so that we can take advantage of the economic recovery when it occurs,” Bridgestone Americas said.

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Bridgestone Americas lays off 91 at OTR plant from Tire Business (a Crain publication)