There will be a significant workforce reduction at the Bridgestone Off-the-Road Tire Plant in Normal. Neither the company nor the United Steelworkers union representing workers could provide a precise number of jobs targeted.
The plant makes large tires for mining and other heavy-equipment implements.
“We will be implementing a workforce reduction to align capacity with demand in response to challenging conditions and market changes in the off-the-road tire markets. The premium market is shifting towards radial products. After a thorough review and analysis, the decision has been made to exit production of unprofitable tires,” said a Bridgestone Americas statement.
The transition from bias to radial tires has been ongoing over the last half-century across all makers. Radial tires cost more to make but have much greater durability. Steelworkers local 787 President Jason Beckett estimated only 20-25% of tire production in Normal is still of bias tires.
The rough estimate of job cuts has not yet appeared in monthly summaries of mass layoffs and reductions under the Illinois Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act.
Beckett confirmed the company began briefing workers in small groups on Monday. He said it was “staggering.” Beckett has worked at the plant for 27 years.
“Up until last year we were still hiring,” said Beckett. “We’re still scrambling for answers.”
He said the company has been good about conducting the briefings and appears to be trying to make the changes “as painless as possible.”
“This decision was made with great care, and we will honor the commitment we made as part of our collective bargaining agreement for our USW-represented employees. The company is committed to helping to reduce the impact of its decision on affected employees in a variety of ways, including providing collectively bargained benefits to our union teammates and keeping teammates on the active payroll through the end of October,” said Bridgestone.
Bridgestone said it will try to get the reductions through voluntary buyouts offered on a seniority basis.
Until recently, Beckett said Bridgestone was still hiring. In 2019, the company completed a $12 million plant renovation and expansion and added 30 jobs. At that time the company said total employment including non-union workers was about 500 people.
Beckett said union workforce employment has trended down over several years through attrition from about 400 to just under 300 currently.
“This decision is part of the company’s strategic initiatives to optimize its business footprint, strengthen its competitiveness and enhance the quality of the company’s North American operations. Bridgestone remains focused on strengthening and accelerating premium tire as our core business and solutions businesses as growth opportunities,” said Bridgestone.
Bridgestone International, the owner of Nashville, Tennessee-headquartered Bridgestone Americas, is among the largest tire makers in the world. Its shares are publicly traded in New York and Tokyo, but it is primarily owned by institutional investors including the Ishibashi family in Japan.
