Sumitomo extends closing of Tonawanda plant to May

TONAWANDA, N.Y.—Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) has amended both the number of employees affected and the closing date of its 102-year-old tire factory in Tonawanda,

SRI reported the number of affected workers now stands at 1,397, 17 more than what was previously announced. The plant, which officially was to close on Feb. 15, will close May 15.

The changes were reported in a New York State Department of Labor Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notice (WARN) filed last month.

According to SRI, the 17 additional layoffs that will occur in May include a group of salaried employees who were asked to stay on to help with the closure. SRI said these employees received retention packages "to help with the wind down process and, upon their exit dates, will receive severance payments."

The United Steelworkers (USW) union represents the 1,200 hourly workers at the plant.

The closure of the facility was announced on Nov. 7, 2024. SRI said the action was a result of its inability to make tires profitably there.

"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.

"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."

The company also said it would dissolve Sumitomo Rubber USA L.L.C., the SRI subsidiary that oversees the manufacturing plant. In 2022, SRI committed $130 million to upgrade and expand the facility for more value-added tires.

SRI has operated the Tonawanda factory since 2015 when Goodyear and SRI dissolved their 16-year-old business alliance. The plant was opened in 1923 by Dunlop Tyre Ltd.

Before the Goodyear-SRI alliance was consummated in 1999, Dunlop Tire Corp., an independent entity, operated the plant.

Sumitomo cited combined operating losses from the facility of more than $325 million over the past three years and 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.

The plant is one of three U.S. tire plants that have been or will be closed.

On Jan. 23 of this year, Bridgestone Americas Inc. announced it was planning to close its LaVergne, Tenn., truck/bus tire plant by July 31, impacting 700 salaried and hourly employees.

Nearly one month later, Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (YRC) said it was permanently closing its Yokohama Trelleborg Wheel Systems (TWS) tire manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, S.C., less than two years after the Japanese tire maker acquired the plant as part of its $2.3 billion acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems A.B. The plant, which opened in January 2016, manufactures radial agricultural tires under the Trelleborg brand.

In addition, Goodyear is phasing out the production of truck/bus tires at its Danville, Va., plant.