Michelin North America has announced plans to shutter its BFGoodrich tire plant in Tuscaloosa by the end of 2028, with some 1,200 employees losing their jobs.
Production will be moved to the firm’s plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Work at the plant was idled from the announcement Thursday until Monday, June 29, the company said, adding, “No separations are anticipated for several months, as transition plans are finalized.”
The company says it will meet with union officials to develop separation benefits for current employees.
Both the Tuscaloosa and Fort Wayne sites have been operating well below capacity, the company said in a press release.
“Because of the dedication of our teams in Tuscaloosa, BFGoodrich Tires is celebrated as a pioneering American brand, and an enduring symbol of car and truck culture,” Terry Redmile, Michelin’s senior vice president for manufacturing operations in the Americas, said in the press release.
“Due to the size, footprint and infrastructure of the Fort Wayne factory, that site is better positioned to consolidate the capacity and meet future demands for the success of BFGoodrich Tires,” Redmile said. “Unfortunately, we could not identify any feasible structure that would enable us to continue operating in Tuscaloosa while also supporting long-term value creation across our factories in North America.”
When the plant celebrated 70 years of operation in 2016, the Business Council of Alabama hailed its achievements, citing: “The first tubeless tire in the United States; the first American-made radial tire, the Lifesaver Radial T/A, which revolutionized muscle car performance tires as first low aspect-ratio tire and is the first American-made passenger car tire certified for racing; the first radial all-terrain tire built in the United States, the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A; America¹s first V-rated tire, the BFGoodrich Comp T/A; the first light-truck radial mud tire, the BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A; the first tires for NASA¹s space shuttle; the first purpose-built off-road radial desert race tire, the BFGoodrich Baja T/A; and the first American-made tire selected as original equipment on a Porsche, the BFGoodrich Comp T/A.”
The BFGoodrich plant is the second major tire manufacturer to shutter its Alabama operations in recent years.
In 2000, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant closed in Gadsden, where it had once employed 4,000 workers. That plant site was leased last year to Wyoming-based Takkion as a site for storing and handling renewable energy materials, primarily solar panels.
