Goodyear confirms closure of Wolverhampton factory with loss of 330 jobs

TYRE manufacturer Goodyear has confirmed it will close its factory in Wolverhampton with the loss of more than 300 jobs.

The decision is not unexpected – despite attempts by unions and politicians to try and persuade the company to change its mind.

Goodyear announced in June that it intended the close the Stafford Road facility following what it called a “change on market conditions”.

The mixing and re-treading factory employs 330 people and now production is likely to switch to lower-cost plants in Europe, Middle East and Africa where there is spare capacity.

Erich Fric, managing director, Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK, said when the closure was first announced back in June: “In the face of ever-increasing competition, we carefully considered several options. However we believe these proposals are needed to strengthen our competitiveness and ensure we have a sustainable business.”

The decision is another blow to the tyre making industry in the West Midlands and follows on from Dunlop Motorsport’s decision to close its plant in Birmingham last year with the loss of more than 200 staff.

It is thought the first redundancies will take place by the end of the year following consultations with staff and unions. The closure of the plant will then take place on a phased basis leading into 2017.

The company said it had made the decision after no viable alternatives to save the plant were forthcoming. It has pledged it will reach fair solutions with employees set to lose their jobs.

However, it said it had yet to reach an agreement with unions on redundancy settlements and it has recommended involving arbitration service ACAS to help finalise settlements.

Trade union Unite has said it is disappointed by the decision and said it believed the site could have had a viable future had it received the right levels of work.