The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
West Midlands; West Midlands; Walsall and Wolverhampton
Location of affected unit(s)
Wolverhampton
Sector
Manufacturing Manufacture Of Rubber And Plastic Products And Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products Manufacture Of Rubber And Plastic Products 22.11 - Manufacture of rubber tyres and tubes; retreading and rebuilding of rubber tyres
New offshoring locations
Not Available
330 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
25 June 2015
Employment effect (start)
31 October 2015
Foreseen end date
30 June 2017
Description
US tyre company, Goodyear has announced plans to close its plant located in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region of England.
Closure of the plant, which is Goodyear’s only manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom, will result in the loss of 330 jobs over the next two years. While tyres are no longer made at the Wolverhampton plant, it produces rubber compounds for tyre factories as well as retread tyres. The company has said that the plant is no longer financially viable so it will relocate the operations to plants in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Formal consultation has commenced with staff and their representative union, Unite. Of the 330 workers, 267 work in the mixing department, 53 workers in producing retreads and 10 people work in support roles. The majority of the workforce is aged over 55. The Wolverhampton site first began tyre production in 1927 and at its height, 7,000 workers were employed at the factory.
Goodyear has a global workforce of around 75,000 with factories located in the US, South America, Europe and Asia.
Updated, 30/11/2016; It has been confirmed that production at the Goodyear factory in Wolverhampton will cease on 20 December 2016. This will then be followed by a shutdown period, which is due to be completed by June 2017. It is estimated that as of November 2016, 70 of the original 330 strong workforce remain at the site.
Sources
25 June 2015: BBC News
25 June 2015: Express & Star
30 November 2016: BBC News
Citation
Eurofound (2015), Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK, Offshoring/Delocalisation in United Kingdom, factsheet number 83836, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/83836.
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