Bridgestone/Firestone recalls laid-off Oklahoma City workers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 17)—Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has begun recalling laid-off workers at its Oklahoma City, Okla., passenger and light truck tire plant and will raise output accordingly, reflecting a resurgence in demand for the company's products and the company's efforts to pare down inventories. Bridgestone/Firestone said it will reinstate by May 1 more than 330 of 700 workers laid off Jan. 21 at the plant as part of an effort to trim inventories that had been inflated in anticipation of a strike by workers at nine Bridgestone/Firestone plants in the U.S. At that same time, the company laid off 700 employees at Oklahoma City and nearly 400 at its LaVergne, Tenn., plant. That strike was averted by a September settlement. The remaining workers at Oklahoma City and the 400 at LaVergne remain on layoff, Bridgestone/Firestone said. In addition to the Oklahoma City and LaVergne layoffs, Bridgestone/Firestone implemented temporary plant shutdowns at its Warren County, Tenn., plant and has laid off 450 workers indefinitely at its Decatur, Ill., plant.