NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 24, 2001) — Success at inventory reduction plus increased tire sales has allowed Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. to start calling back more than 150 workers at its LaVergne, Tenn., factory and and more than 330 laid-off workers at the company's Oklahoma City, Okla., facility.
“We are hopeful that future sales increases will permit us to call more employees back before the end of the year,” said John McQuade, vice president of manufacturing for the BFS Manufacturing Operations group, in a prepared statement.
The Nashville-based tire maker laid off about 700 workers at Oklahoma City and nearly 400 at LaVergne last January, on top of 450 indefinite layoffs at its tire facility in Decatur, Ill.
The company also had temporary shutdowns at all three plants and a fourth factory at Warren County, Tenn.