The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on July 11 publicly announced that it has ceased production at its tire manufacturing facility in Union City, Tenn.
On Feb. 10, Goodyear had announced its intention to close the plant by the end of 2011.
“When we announced our intention to close the plant, we expected the shutdown would occur by year-end,” said Chairman and CEO Richard J. Kramer in a written statement. “Since then, the product transfers to the other Goodyear plants have been completed more quickly than expected. We are now able to meet the needs of our consumer tire customers without further production in Union City.”
This action is consistent with plans outlined at the company’s investor meeting earlier this year.
As a result of the accelerated closure and payments to nearly 1,800 associates under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, Goodyear expects to record additional after-tax charges of about $20 million. The majority of these additional charges will be recorded in the second quarter of 2011.
