Bridgestone is reducing staff in the US

The Bridgestone Corporation will cut almost a third of the workforce at its Bloomington, Illinois, USA plant, which produces tires for specialized equipment. 89 out of nearly 300 employees will lose their jobs, and Bridgestone reports that they were forced to reduce staff due to changes in the OTR tire segment. The company's statement says that the market is currently seeing a growing share of radial tires, and "after careful analysis, it was decided to discontinue the production of unprofitable products," i.e., diagonal tires.

The plant produces tires for the construction and mining industries, and in 2018-2019, Bridgestone invested $12 million in expanding production, adding 29, 33, and 35-inch tires to the plant's product line and creating 30 jobs.

The union notes that the management's decision was a surprise to the employees, and its consequences will be "devastating for many."

The transition to radial tires has been underway in the industry for over 50 years, and, according to the union, diagonal tires account for around 20-25% of the plant's production volume in Bloomington.