FULDA, Germany — Negotiations between Goodyear and German labor union IGBCE over proposed job cuts at the tire maker's Fulda plant have ended without agreement, according to the union.
Over the past couple of months, Goodyear managers have been holding meetings with the plant's works council and the IGBCE over plans to cut 557 jobs and reduce production at Fulda.
The IGBCE claimed on Sept. 7 that Goodyear had pulled out of the talks after union negotiators had offered a counterproposal to the planned cutbacks.
"Goodyear Germany's chief negotiator unilaterally declared the negotiations on a reconciliation of interests and a social plan for the Fulda site to have failed," the union stated.
In June, the tire maker announced that it was looking to cut 550 jobs — 375 hourly employees and 175 contracted positions — at the Fulda factory under a plan to reduce production capacity at the site.
The proposal would reduce the number of tire SKUs produced in Fulda by around 450, about 200 of which are to be transferred to other Goodyear plants in its Europe/Middle East/Africa business area.
Goodyear maintains that the measures are necessary to "decrease high-cost capacity and optimize use of other plants" in the EMEA.
For its part, the IGBCE has argued that the cutbacks would "damage" the overall operation at Goodyear's Fulda site, and has vowed to "fight for every job."
Last week, Goodyear unveiled a separate restructuring plan to cut 1,200 jobs across its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
