Manufacturer Plant Closing in New York, 1500+ Jobs Gone

The 100-year-old manufacturing plant is expected to be fully closed by February 2025.

One of western New York's largest manufacturing operations has announced that they are preparing to close and by doing so will be eliminating 1524 union and salaried jobs.

New York Tire Manufacturing Plant Closing

Last week the Sumitomo Rubber Company announced that the company's tire manufacturing plant in Tonawanda, New York was ending tire production after 100 years and shutting down operations. The plant, located at 10 Sheridan Drive Tonawanda, NY first opened in 1923 and for many years was operated by Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America, along with Sumitomo Rubber.

The Japan-based company took full control of the plant in 2015 and proceeded to invest millions including $129 million in 2022, according to New York Upstate which is why it closing came as a surprise.

Why is the New York Plant Closing?

According to a Sumitomo statement, its recent attempts to control costs, along with investments in the aging facility failed to offset mounting financial losses. The statement also said,

"The plant closure is primarily due to overall facility performance within the increasingly competitive international tire market. This difficult decision follows a multi-year analysis of the company’s financial situation and general market conditions."

 

Employees & Local Official's Surprised by Closure

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz was surprised by the plant closing saying, "It appears this decision was made by the Japanese owner’s board without any discussion with local and state officials about the possibility of closure". He went on to say that at no point did Sumitomo ask the county or state for any additional assistance to remain in operation.

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The New York Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN Notice) was issued on November 7th and informed employees that as the plant closes, 1,380 employees will be "separated from the company". 1,144 of the affected employees had their last day of work on November 11, 2024. 101 plant employees' last day will be on November 15, 2024, and the remaining 135 employees will be let go on February 14, 2025.

Most of the employees who are now jobless are expected to be compensated with severance packages. Currently, all involved unions and the rubber company are working to finalize the packages as soon as possible.