FULDA, Germany—Goodyear has opened negotiations with the work force at its car and light-truck tire plant in Fulda to cut that plant's capacity in half by year-end 2024, a move that could result in roughly 550 job cuts at the 77-year-old factory in central Germany.
Goodyear said it needs to take this "difficult-but-necessary" action in order to improve its cost structure by decreasing high-cost capacity and optimizing use of the remaining plants in its Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) manufacturing footprint.
The Fulda plant is one of five tire factories Goodyear operates in Germany, as well as one of 13 in Europe. The plant, which opened in 1946 under the auspices of the then-independent Gummiwerke Fulda G.m.b.H. enterprise, has a rated daily capacity of 21,000 units with 1,500 hourly workers.
Goodyear acquired Fulda in 1962. The brand itself dates back to 1900.
The proposed plan would reduce the number of tire SKUs produced in Fulda by approximately 450, Goodyear said in an 8K filing with Securities and Exchange Commission, with about 200 of them being transferred to other EMEA tire plants.
Pending the outcome of the negotiation process with the plant's workforce, Goodyear said it anticipates the proposed restructuring would result in a reduction of approximately 375 salaried jobs and 175 contracted positions.