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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas
is closing its LaVergne, Tennessee, truck and bus radial tire
plant and laying off 700 workers there, the company announced in
a news release.
Bridgestone said the closure will help the company “optimize its
business footprint” and “strengthen its competitiveness.”
In addition, Bridgestone announced capacity and workforce
reductions at its Des Moines, Iowa, agriculture tire plant and
additional workforce reductions in U.S. corporate, sales and
operations. In Latin America, it plans reductions in workforce
and production capacity in Argentina and Brazil.
“Reductions in force are impacting our corporate, sales and
operations in the Americas where a realignment of staffing
levels is needed in response to the challenging economic
environment,” company spokesperson Emily Weaver said in an
email. “Of our nearly 44,000 teammates across North America and
Latin America, just under 4% of our teammates are leaving the
company as part of the voluntary and involuntary workforce
reductions.”
The LaVergne plant was the first tire-producing facility in
North America for the Bridgestone Corporation. The company
stopped making tires for cars and light trucks at the plant in
2009, laying off roughly half of the workers at the time.
LaVergne's United Steelworkers master union workers have
preferential hiring rights at the company's plants in Des
Moines; Akron, Ohio; and Russellville, Arkansas, Weaver said.
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