Another wave of agriculture-related layoffs is slated in Iowa, this time at the Bridgestone-Firestone tire plant, which primarily produces tractor tires.
A Des Moines Register article attributes the decision to several factors, including lower-than-expected demand from equipment manufacturers John Deere (which also announced 684 Iowa and Illinois layoffs) and Case IH.
In a statement, the company said it “regularly evaluates all aspects of its business to ensure we remain competitive and resources are allocated in a manner that best supports our business strategy.”
As of Thursday afternoon, the layoffs had not yet been listed on Iowa WARN, the state’s log of layoff notices. However, a Bridgestone spokesperson told KCCI that the company had informed the state on June 5.
Bridgestone also told reporters that it notified the local United Steelworkers leadership in Des Moines.
The number of affected employees is currently unknown. However, Keenan Bell, president of the United Steelworkers Union 310L, which represents the plant’s production workers, told Des Moines reporters that employees were informed the layoffs, effective July 5, will affect those with two or fewer years of seniority. According to union records, 118 of the plant’s 900 workers fall into this category.
Bridgestone’s last layoff occurred in the 1990s. However, the plant has been slow for a while, and schedule adjustments, including shift length changes, have already been made.
Terminations may affect 15 percent of staff. Anyone under the two-year seniority mark may not receive any extra benefits when they’re laid off.
“It’s just a sad situation. Unfortunately, we’re losing a good group of young employees,” Bell told KCCI, which is working to get the Iowa Workforce Development in to help employees file for unemployment and help people who are unable to find a job before the layoff date.
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