BFNT announces lay offs at LaVergne plant

Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC (BFNT) will lay off more than 150 employees at its LaVergne, Tenn., plant due to falling demand for consumer tires.

Lay-offs will encompass 148 hourly workers and at least 10 salaried employees.

The LaVergne factory employs 1,700 people. It has the capacity to produce 14,600 passenger and 3,000 light truck tires per day, according to Modern Tire Dealer research. (The plant also can manufacture 6,200 medium truck tires per day at full throttle.)

While BFNT has "previously adjusted production levels to address slowing demand, due to the increasing impact of the global economic crisis that has resulted in a further weakening and decrease in demand in the North American tire market, the company will take this additional step to reduce manufacturing capacity in North America," say BFNT officials.

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