Job Cuts Expected at Goodyear in Poland

Esmerk, December 24, 2008

 

The management at the Debica tyre manufacturer, which is controlled by the US company Goodyear, has announced that collective bargaining negotiations will take pace in the near future. No details could be obtained from Debica's management, although it is thought that this will mean job cuts. The announcement comes in the middle of an enforced standstill in production at the company's factory, due to lack of demand. A representative of one of the unions said that he has no doubt that the company is seeking to cut labour costs, through job cuts. This is despite the companies assurances that there would be no group redundancies, when it negotiated with the staff that they would receive no pay rise for the first eight months of 2009.

Goodyear off for holidays

The Fayetteville Observer, December 9, 2008

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. will take a break from production at its Fayetteville plant between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2.

“We’ve known it was coming,” said Daryl Jackson, president of United Steelworkers Local 959. The official announcement happened Friday, he added.

This will be the fifth week of production halts this year.

Richard Evans, spokesman for the plant on Ramsey Street that employs about 3,000 people, said production will stop at 7 a.m. on Dec. 24 and resume at 7 a.m. on Jan 2.

Because employees will be paid for the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays, they won’t be off the clock long enough to qualify for unemployment claims, Jackson said. During previous production halts this year, workers were able to collect unemployment.

If there is money in the “sub-pay” trust fund, which is contracted between the company and United Steelworkers, it will be made available, Jackson said.

Given the dire situation with the economy and Detroit automakers, union members are generally relieved that they didn’t end up taking more time off than this, Jackson said.

“It’s like I told the membership — with the Big Three in the shape that they’re in, we’re fortunate that we’re 99.9 percent in the replacement market,” Jackson said. Plants dealing in original equipment — tires that go on new cars — are in a far worse position, he said.

Plant officials have said that the four prior weeks of production halts this year were to bring inventory in line with demand.

That’s partly the reason again.

“But this is more of a standard practice at the end of the year,” Evans said. “We’ve done this a number of times.”

During a conference call with investors last month, Goodyear officials told analysts that additional production halts were likely.

“As we continue to manage to the current market conditions, we’ll accelerate our action under our ‘cash is king’ strategy,” Robert J. Keegan, Goodyear’s chairman and chief executive officer, told investors at that time. “We will manage aggressively for cash.”

Part of that means making necessary production cutbacks, said Keegan, who added that demand indicators point to a continued “challenging” environment at least through the middle of 2009.

News from Goodyear Chile

News from Goodyear Chile - the union denounces Goodyear's action in Chile.  During Oct - Nov, around 250 workers from the shop floor and adminstration were fired.  Admin of the company says that for 2009, production projection is not higher than the 3,200,000/yr, even though it was to get to 5,000,000/year.  They also said they would end the the work schedule of 4 shifts (6 days worked, 2 off) - ergo the great number of workers gone.

In November, the Union leadership gave the company suggestions for possible cuts that would preserve jobs and at the same time give the company the biggest margin to manage the crisis.  We regret that the company gnored our proposals and opted for the  most drammatic action for the workers and their families, mass firings.

 

We need direct information on Goodyear's projections from the USA, and the vision from the rest of Latin America.

 

We send fraternal greetings to all of our brothers in the region during such difficult times.

 

Board of Directors, Number 1 Workers Union, Goodyear, Chile

Gerald:
La Organizacion del Sindicato de Trabajadores Nº1 de Goodyear de Chile, denuncia el actuar de la trasnacional Goodyear en nuestro pais.
Durante los meses Octubre- Noviembre fueron despedidas alrededor de 250 personas siendo estos trabajadores de piso y administrativos.
La administracion informa que para el año 2009 la pryeccion de produccion no supera los 3.200.000 de neumaticos al año, siendo que hasta hace un tiempo atras, esa proyeccion llegaba a los 5.000.000 de unidades anual.
ademas informarmamos el termino de la jornada continua de 4 turnos (6 dias trabajados y 2 dias libres) y por ende la salida de gran cantidad de trabajadores.
La Directiva del Sindicato a inicios del mes de noviembre planteo a la administracion de la empresa posibles recortes en la reajustabilidad de nuestros sueldos y por otra parte un recorte de porcentaje del sueldo base, buscando darle a la empresa un mayor margen en la viabilidad del manejo en esta crisis y con el objetivo claro de mantener los puestos de trabajo. Lamentamos que la empresa haya hecho caso omiso de estas propuestas y opto por lo mas dramatico para con los trabajadores y sus familias, el despedido masivo.
 
 
(quisieramos tener informacion directa de las proyecciones de las plantas Goodyear en EEUU y la vision del resto de las plantas en sudamerica).
 
Desde Chile un abrazo fraterno pàra todos los compañeros hermanos de la region, en momentos tan dificiles.
Comunicaciones.
Directiva Sindicato Nº 1 de Trabajadores de Goodyear Chile

 

Goodyear halts Turkey factory production for 10 days

Reuters, December 7, 2008

Two Goodyear Tire factories in Turkey will halt production for ten days in December and January, state-run Anatolian reported a union President Abdullah Karacan as saying.

The two factories in Adapazari and Kocaeli will be closed Dec. 12-17, and from Jan. 2-7. due to lower demand in the sector, said Karacan, who is the president of Turkey's petroleum, chemical and tire union.

He said that production at the factories had decreased 30 percent to 60 percent. No one at the company was immediately available to comment. (Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

Goodyear Dunlop cuts 147 jobs in western New York

The Buffalo News, December 1, 2008

TONAWANDA, N.Y. - Union officials say Goodyear Dunlop has cut 147 jobs at its western New York plant because of a slowdown in tire sales.

The company announced plans to reduce its Tonawanda workforce in October, saying it was decreasing production of passenger auto tires and commercial truck tires amid declining demand by the auto industry.

United Steelworkers of America Local 135 says 52 workers took buyouts and 95 workers were laid off Monday.

Production of motorcycle tires was not affected.