Updated: Sumitomo Rubber halts production at U.S. tire plant, to cut over 1,500 jobs

TONAWANDA, N.Y.—Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. is terminating all production activities at its New York tire factory and is dissolving its consolidated subsidiary, Sumitomo Rubber USA L.L.C. (SRUSA), resulting in the loss of 1,555 jobs.

All production at the 102-year-old Tonawanda facility will cease immediately, the tire maker said, with related wind down activities expected to be complete over the next 12-24 months.

All R&D conducted at SRUSA, however, will remain in North America via transfer to SRI America Inc. The exact location of this transfer is yet to be determined.

"The closure follows an extended examination of the viability of the facility, following thorough analysis of various business complexities, including mounting material and logistics costs, dated infrastructure, intermittent financial performance, and changing market conditions," SRI said in a Nov. 7 news release. "The evaluation was undertaken as part of a broader strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Sumitomo Rubber Group in the competitive international tire market."

Kobe, Japan-based SRI also said in a Nov. 7 disclosure that it and its U.S. subsidiaries worked to improve SRUSA's production structure and operational efficiencies, however, "the business environment remains severe due to the deterioration of productivity and profitability at SRUSA, and profitability is hard to improve in the long term."

Approximately 1,550 hourly and salaried employees—1,200 union and about 350 non-union, respectively—will be impacted, SRI said, and have been formally notified. SRI said it also updated the United Steelworkers Union Local 135 of the closure and is working with union representatives on bargaining and equitable severance packages.

"The company intends to actively collaborate with union representation and former salaried employees on various job placement support services to help ease work force transition," the company said. Discussions with union leadership will begin Nov. 13.

SRUSA said it does not anticipate any environmental impacts from the closure of the plant, and "plans are yet to be determined" for future site activity.

"As a longstanding corporate citizen in Western New York, the company understands that this closure will impact the local community," SRUSA said in a statement. "SRUSA is committed to supporting our employees and exploring opportunities to mitigate the effects of the closure."

Rubber News' requests for comment from the local USW and city officials have not yet been returned.

USW, however, sent out a press release slamming the tire maker’s decision to close the plant.

“The United Steelworkers (USW) union today condemned Sumitomo Tire’s decision to shutter its Tonawanda, N.Y., facility, costing 1,200 USW members their jobs,” the trade union said in a statement.

USW District 4 Director Dave Wasiura, in expressing his disappointment with the closure, urged Sumitomo management “to find a better solution than the abrupt closure.”

“Our union has partnered with Sumitomo for years, helping to secure investments, as together we’ve navigated the ups and downs of the tire industry,” said Wasiura, who represents workers in New York and eight other northeastern states. “That management went straight to enacting this extreme measure without coming to us is nothing short of a betrayal of its highly-skilled, dedicated work force.”

The impact of the closure will “ripple far beyond the plant itself,” he added. “Sumitomo’s decision to wipe out these good, union jobs is devastating, not just for workers but for the entire community that they help support.”

The decision to close the plant comes three years after SRI committed $130 million to upgrade and expand the facility for more value-added tires.

That project was designed to nearly double passenger and light truck tire capacity to 12,000 units per day and boost truck/bus tire capacity to 2,300 units a day from 1,600.

Sumitomo Rubber North America has stated in the past that it sources 15-20 percent of the tires it sells from the suburban Buffalo plant and imports the rest from factories in Brazil, China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand and Turkey.

SRI has operated the Tonawanda factory since 2015, when Goodyear and SRI dissolved their 16-year-old business alliance. Since then, it has manufactured passenger, motorcycle, truck and bus tires.

The plant was opened in 1923 by Dunlop Tyre Ltd. Prior to the formation of the Goodyear-SRI alliance in 1999, the plant was operated by Dunlop Tire Corp., an independent entity.

Sumitomo cited combined operating losses from the New York operation of more than $325 million over the past three years and has recorded costs of $310 million in 2024 to cover actions necessary to close the factory.

The business there generated $455 million in sales revenue in fiscal 2023, SRI said.

SRI said it expects to incur additional expenses of nearly $190 million to cover costs associated with layoffs and "early termination penalties."

Bruce Davis, Tire Business staff, contributed to this report.