TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (Oct. 3, 2013) — Calling it a "production adjustment," Michelin North America Inc. said it will trim the workforce at its BFGoodrich factory in Tuscaloosa.
A Michelin spokesman said "to help align production and inventory with current market demand for BFGoodrich passenger and light truck tires," the company "will begin implementing today an indefinite layoff of less than 10 percent of its workforce at its Tuscaloosa, Ala., plant.
"Details concerning the implementation are being finalized. We continue to monitor the tire market and will react accordingly."
The former BF Goodrich Tire Co. opened the plant in 1945. At last count it had 1,449 employees and a capacity of 89,400 metric tons per year, producing BFG passenger and light truck tires.
Members of United Steelworkers unions at BFG plants in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Tuscaloosa ratified a renewed three-year labor agreement in mid-August after initially rejecting a deal two weeks earlier.
