Dyersburg's Firestone facility lays off 14

On Tuesday, Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC, announced the layoff of just over 10 percent of its employees at the organization's Dyersburg facility.

Firestone officials in the district office in Indianapolis say the move to eliminate 39 positions in Dyersburg and Williamsburg, Ky. was made in response to the ailing economy and its impact on truck and trailer production.

The Dyersburg and Williamsburg manufacturing plants each produce air springs and other products related to a variety of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicle suspension applications.

The Dyersburg facility eliminated 14 production positions on Tuesday, with the Williamsburg facility eliminating five salaried positions and 20 production positions. Both work-force reductions were effective June 16.

"We are eliminating the positions entirely because of the sharp decline and demand in the truck and trailer market," said Firestone Diversified Products, LLC Public Affairs Director Christina D. Gaines. "The decision to eliminate positions was a very difficult one to make, but it was necessary to better align our human resources with the scale of our operations and to ensure our ongoing viability."

Last September, the company announced the closing of its Noblesville, Ind. plant, a facility employing approximately 300 employees. As operations in Noblesville decreased, orders moved to Dyersburg and Williamsburg. The Noblesville plant will close at the end of June.

In spite of the increased orders from Noblesville, earlier this year, FSIP reduced the hours of its employees in both the Dyersburg and Williamsburg facilities in an effort to reduce production and cost without having to eliminate positions. The reduction bought the organization a little more time, but further action was required to address the shortage of orders.

"The production adjustment is intended to help realign production levels with demand and to maintain responsible inventory targets through a time of substantial decline in the truck and trailer market," said Gaines. "We will continue to evaluate the marketplace and adjust our production levels accordingly."

The 14 production workers affected in the Dyersburg layoff will be eligible for unemployment benefits and three months of medical coverage, with COBRA available beyond that.

The Firestone company has additional manufacturing plants in Poland, Brazil and Costa Rica, an assembly plant in China and a joint venture in India. Gaines said the economic downturn is most evident in facilities located in the United States.

"Most of the other facilities are newer facilities so they are not as ramped up as the Dyersburg and Williamsburg plants," said Gaines. "They have not yet had the chance to expand."