Layoffs at Yokohama Salem plant

Yokohama has laid off 31 hourly workers at its Salem, Va., tire plant.

SALEM, Va. (Jan. 9, 2015) — Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Virginia L.L.C. (YTMV) has begun the indefinite layoffs of 31 hourly employees at its Salem tire plant.

The workers are represented by United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1023.

The positions make up less than 5 percent of the union workforce at the Salem plant. Yokohama said. The factory produces passenger and light truck tires, and has 910 employees, 718 of whom are union workers.

“The positions are being phased out to more effectively streamline YTMV's current production schedule and inventory capacity,” said Tetsuro “Tex” Murakami, president of YTMV.

“The layoffs are in accordance with the company and the union's collective bargaining agreement, which runs through May 16, 2018. The tenure of the 31 employees was 14 months or less,” he added.

Last June Yokohama and the USW signed a new four-year contract at the plant, with Mr. Murakami boasting of “a strong working relationship” with the tire maker's “union partners.”

Among its highlights, the pact included:

  • A non-closure agreement at the plant during the life of the agreement;

  • The continuation and improvement of the union's current pension plan; and

  • Numerous safety and health measures.

At the time Mr. Murakami called it “another significant contract, which is expected to prove beneficial to all parties.”

YTMV is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Santa Ana, Calif.-based Yokohama Tire Corp., the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo -based Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd.

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