Goodyear reports fatality at US tire manufacturing plant

Topeka, Kansas – Goodyear Tire & Rubber has confirmed the death of an employee from injuries suffered in an incident at its commercial and off-road tire manufacturing plant in Topeka.

“We deeply regret that an associate died this morning at the Goodyear-Topeka plant,” said Goodyear in a prepared statement issued to local media 24 Sept.

“Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues of our co-workers,” stated the company, adding that employee security “is always our top concern at Goodyear.”

The tire maker said it was carrying out an internal investigation into the incident and was working with outside agencies in response to the incident.

This is the second fatality at the Topeka plant in recent years: in 2017, a 61-year-old contract worker employee died from head injuries caused by a falling object in a plant storeroom.

This followed a spate of incidents at Goodyear’s tire plant in Danville, Virginia, in which four workers lost their lives between August 2015 and August 2016.

In its 2021 CSR report, Goodyear reported 13 serious injuries across the group as a whole, compared to 17 in 2020 and 10 in the previous year.

Total rate of incidents ‘requiring medical treatment above first aid and restricted/lost-time injuries’ was recorded at 2.1 per 200,000 hours worked in 2021.

This work-related accident rate represented an increase from levels of 1.8 and 1.9 recorded by Goodyear for 2020 and 2019 respectively.