AKRON—Goodyear is reducing its work force by a total of about 241 at two manufacturing facilities because of a drop in demand in some segments.
The tire maker will lay off 41 workers at its Danville, Va., factory beginning Feb. 4 and the process "will be conducted in accordance with the terms of Goodyear's collective bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers," a company spokeswoman said.
On Dec. 31, Goodyear's Fayetteville, N.C., facility also trimmed its work force when about 200 workers accepted buyout packages in a move aimed at averting layoffs. Two months earlier, the firm said it needed to cut jobs at plant.
"As announced in September, the Goodyear-Fayette plant followed actions to align its production schedule with customer requirements and responsible inventory targets," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "The plant made a slight reduction in the number of tires produced daily between Sept. 1 and the end of the year."
About 2,500 workers remain at the Fayetteville factory and approximately 2,150 will make up the Danville work force plant after the 41 layoffs are completed.
The Danville cutbacks are being made based on seniority, the spokeswoman said, and the 41 workers "may have recall rights as defined in our collective bargaining agreement with the USW."
Goodyear produces airplane and medium radial commercial truck tires at the Danville facility while the Fayetteville factory manufactures consumer tires, the spokeswoman said.
In August, the Fayetteville plant was closed for a week to bring production in line with the firm's inventory.
After the layoffs at Danville became public, the spokeswoman said in another prepared statement that "Goodyear's strategy of pursuing targeted market segments means that we make and sell products where we can be competitive and charge for the value of the brand, technology and innovation—we do not produce volume for volume's sake."
The company said it continually adjusts its production schedule as needed,. "In some instances, this may mean adjusting staffing levels to reflect our production needs," as was the case at the Danville plant.