NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas is closing its LaVergne, Tennessee, truck and bus radial tire plant and laying off 700 workers there, the company announced in a news release.

Bridgestone said the closure will help the company “optimize its business footprint” and “strengthen its competitiveness.”

In addition, Bridgestone announced capacity and workforce reductions at its Des Moines, Iowa, agriculture tire plant and additional workforce reductions in U.S. corporate, sales and operations. In Latin America, it plans reductions in workforce and production capacity in Argentina and Brazil.

“Reductions in force are impacting our corporate, sales and operations in the Americas where a realignment of staffing levels is needed in response to the challenging economic environment,” company spokesperson Emily Weaver said in an email. “Of our nearly 44,000 teammates across North America and Latin America, just under 4% of our teammates are leaving the company as part of the voluntary and involuntary workforce reductions.”

The LaVergne plant was the first tire-producing facility in North America for the Bridgestone Corporation. The company stopped making tires for cars and light trucks at the plant in 2009, laying off roughly half of the workers at the time. LaVergne's United Steelworkers master union workers have preferential hiring rights at the company's plants in Des Moines; Akron, Ohio; and Russellville, Arkansas, Weaver said.

View Comments