Bridgestone to cut 800 jobs at U.S. plant

Sunday 25th January, 04:28 AM JST

TOKYO —

Bridgestone Corp has announced that it was shedding about 800 jobs in the United States to cope with weaker demand. Bridgestone said it would stop making tires for passenger cars and light trucks at its Tennessee factory with the loss of 543 jobs.

It will also reduce production of tires for bigger trucks at the same plant, resulting in a further 259 layoffs.

Bridgestone said it hoped to re-hire workers when the economy picks up, perhaps as early as the fourth quarter of 2009.

The company will continue to produce tires for larger trucks and buses at the plant with more than 700 workers.

Bridgestone, which vies with France’s Michelin to be the world’s top tiremaker, has been hit hard by weaker auto sales and a stronger yen.

The company will halt production at its French plant in Bethune for 46 days between February and June because of weak demand, the managing director of the plant, Bruno Capron, said.

Wire reports

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2 Comments

proxy at 10:46 AM JST - 25th January

I would think that Bridgestone would be doing better now than when oil was over $140 a barrel. There was a huge shortage of winter tires in Canada in December because of a new law. Bridgestone management must have been asleep at the wheel not have foreseen the huge demand for winter tires in Quebec because the law was past some time before it became law.
mrgalactic at 03:53 PM JST - 27th January

Proxy I agree. Bridgestone America had enough money to sponsor the "winter hockey classic" on New Years day (an outdoor NHL hockey game played at Wrigley's baseball field- a huge success mind you) and they still had enough left over to sponsor the half-time show at the Super Bowl, a Bruce Springsteen concert ! Millions of dollars spent here on these events, seems the head office here in Tokyo is panicking like the rest of the Japanese business world. Lets hope that when the dust settles, those fired Americans have enough common sense to give up on Japanese companies as well as their products. A lot of these job cuts seem racist ! Hardly necessary for an economy that has turned downward a mere 3 months !