Goodyear Dunlop to cut 147 jobs

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (Dec. 2, 2008) - Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America Inc. has cut 147 jobs at its Tonawanda plant because of declining tire production.

About 95 employees were laid off and 52 accepted buyouts. The joint venture of Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. offered a buyout package to the 1,100 employees at the factory in early November, a Goodyear spokeswoman said.

On Dec. 1, West Amherst, N.Y.-based Goodyear Dunlop cut production of passenger and commercial truck tires, scaling back from a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week schedule to three shifts, five days a week. Motorcycle tire production at the plant was not impacted by the cuts.

Laid off workers can be rehired, the spokeswoman said. Those who took the buyouts won't be called back.

Employees at the plant in Tonawanda, located near Buffalo, N.Y., are represented by the United Steelworkers Local 135, which began meeting with Goodyear Dunlop Oct. 27 and completed a reduction plan Oct. 31, according to Kathy Kluczynski, vice president of the local.

Workers with less than two years on the job can be recalled for five years, she said, while those with more than two years can be recalled indefinitely.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)

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