I’m not sure how else to explain the upcoming closure of a major Goodyear factory in North Carolina.
The article also says Goodyear has another plant in Statesville, NC. Perhaps they are just consolidating operations?
As for opting for cheapo tires, I suppose that’s always been the case for a certain segment. Not just the “value-minded” shopper but for the many used car dealers and small indy shops. Many major manufacturers have a lower-tier product. Back when Centric was a great name for brakes and wheel-end products, they had their main Centric line and the C-Tek stuff aimed at used car dealers and low-price shoppers.
Statesville is about a 2.5 hour drive from Fayetteville. I doubt that many, if any, Fayetteville employees could commute to Statesville from their current homes. With a distance like that, Goodyear could transfer production to any of the 17 other plants. Since they haven’t formally informed the NC government about the closure, I suppose there’s an outside chance that the Fayetteville facility might remain open.
Besides the losses of almost $2 Billion and Weak Demand for tires (so many cheapo choices on the market…), and the rising cost of raw materials… that “55-year old Plant” has an issue with its aging infrastructure… The Fayetteville facility features older buildings (some older than 60-years old…) and aging equipment that require constant repair and significant capital investment to replace it with more efficient and dependable equipment…
So the company decided that consolidating its production into more efficient facilities is a necessary step to secure the long-term health of the business.
At least they are filing bankruptcy…
Goodyear is filing for bankruptcy?
I missed that detail, Mr. Thunder.
