Goodyear targets June to restart Tupelo production

TUPELO, Miss.—Goodyear has targeted the beginning of June for its tornado-ravaged Cooper Tire plant in Tupelo to resume production.

In a statement issued Friday morning, the Akron-based tire maker said it is expecting to restart and begin ramping up production by early June "with full ramp-up expected in the third quarter of 2023."

The facility suffered "considerable damage," according to news reports, from a series of tornadoes that struck the region on April 1.

Goodyear said around-the-clock remediation efforts are continuing at the plant, and that it had begun releasing inventory stored at the facility to customers April 18.

"We are leveraging the power of our broader manufacturing footprint and network inventory as we continue to execute our business continuity playbook to limit customer disruption," Goodyear said in the statement.

According to the (Northeast Mississippi) Daily Journal, at least 300 employees were working when the storm hit and plant officials worked to get everyone to safety. The National Weather Service said the storms were capable of producing EF-2 and stronger tornadoes.

Goodyear said previously that the 1,656 employees who work at the facility are being compensated and not required to use vacation while the plant is idled. The Tupelo plant, opened in 1994 by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., is one of three Cooper tire factories in the U.S., and one of eight plants Goodyear operates in the U.S.

The plant manufactures passenger tires, and has a rated capacity of 37,000 tires per year— the largest of any Cooper tire plant in the U.S.—according to Rubber News' Global Tire Report.