Dive Brief:
- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plans to reduce production capacity and cost per tire in its Americas region by cutting approximately 850 workers at its manufacturing facility in Danville, Virginia, according to a Jan. 30 securities filing.
- The company made the decision after it announced plans to refocus the Danville plant on producing rubber mixing and aviation tires, Goodyear said in an email to Manufacturing Dive.
- The company expects to complete the plan by year’s end and spend between $130 million to $140 million implementing the job cuts and plant transformation, per the filing.
Dive Insight:
The upcoming layoffs include associates and contracted positions, the company said in the filing. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act has not been filed or posted and Goodyear did not say when it will begin the job cuts.
The tire and rubber maker announced plans early last month to repurpose the Danville facility, moving most of the production to its other manufacturing plants, the Chatham Star Tribune reported.
The Danville facility was established in November 1966, employing over 2,000 workers and producing commercial and aviation tires, according to a 2016 post on the city’s website. About 1,850 employees are represented by United Steel Workers Local 831, according to the union’s website. The local reached an agreement with Goodyear regarding the company’s production and workforce reduction, per the filing.
Goodyear has been working on streamlining its portfolio and production to reduce costs since 2023 as part of a corporate transformation plan. The company aims to cut $1.5 billion in costs by the end of the year by optimizing manufacturing plants, supply chain and research and development efforts, CEO and President Mark Stewart said on a November earnings call.
“We will continue to look for opportunities to deliver beyond our updated targets as well, as we create a more efficient, stronger company,” Stewart said. “Like any plan, we know that while the path may change, the goal remains the same — deliver increased value to our customers and our shareholders. We still have much work to do in the face of industry headwinds.”
Other actions of the transformation plan include pursuing strategic alternatives for the company’s chemical and off-the-road equipment tire businesses and the Dunlop brand.
The company closed on its $905 million sale of its off-the-road tire business to The Yokohama Rubber Co. on Feb. 3. Last month, Goodyear announced an agreement to sell the Dunlop brand to Sumitomo Rubber Industries for approximately $701 million, set to close in mid-2025.
