Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. has given notice that tire production at its Tyler, Texas, plant will cease at the end of the year. However, Goodyear will keep it open as a mixing facility.
Last year, Goodyear said it would close the Tyler factory. "As part of our contract settlement (with the United Steelworkers), we had the ability to close it after the end of 2007," says a Goodyear spokesperson.
One week ago, Goodyear issued a notice to Tyler's employees "that we will cease production at the end of the year but will keep it open as a mixing center for other Goodyear plants."
Up to 650 employees will lose their jobs when production ends; about 150 will remain to run mixing operations.
Goodyear's Tyler plant has the capacity to build 32,000 passenger tires per day, according to Modern Tire Dealer data.
