Confirmed there are at least 70 people laid off with no call back in tire engineering departments in Akron. Been told that all areas will see some effect or layoffs. Many people had 15 to 30 plus years with the company. There's no care or loyalty for a Goodyear employee from the top.
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I suspect this was a way to play to Wall St and soften the blow of a very poor 4th Quarter report. However, it is EMEA that is really struggling but the layoffs in R&D are in Akron. This is because it's very difficult to lay people off in Europe due to their strong labor laws.
The majority of layoffs were at the older end with 20-30+ years of service. Unfortunately, to prevent any issues regarding age discrimination, they have sacrificed several people in their 20's to bring the average down. From a company that prides itself on its Corporate responsibility, this could have been handled a lot better. It would be interesting to see how many people in leadership positions got let go.
Sustainable tires made of soybean oil is not tough enough to keep the business afloat, it seems. All the best everyone. Let us support each other against the corporation during these tough times.
Wonder if the management folks whose poor decision making are causing this, and who are directly responsible for the calamity in business, is facing any consequences at all!
If Channel 3 is monitoring this thread, here are a couple of items worth fact checking just to keep Goodyear honest. At the end of the day, layoffs happen and we will all move on, I just dislike companies that may not be painting an accurate picture of how things really went down so they can save face in the media.
The company press release makes it sound like the announcement was made today and the layoffs will come in the future during the first quarter. The layoffs actually went down on Wednesday with no prior advance notice given to the employees. It would have been nice to have had a few weeks advance notice to prepare but that wasn't afforded.
Second, I would seriously question the company number of only 90 people let go in Akron. Based off what went down on Wednesday, this is why I suspect that number may be too low. In Goodyear, you are classified by your business team. For example, I work in Akron, however, I and members of my team are classified as global employees because of the business team. When I joined the company, I actually went through a different onboarding process - there is an onboarding for "Akron Local" employees and "Global Employees" I went through the global employee onboarding. I suspect that there are at least a few of us who were laid off and are actually showing as global layoff and not being picked up as an Akron local layoff. The better question to ask Goodyear is how many people who got laid off live and work in Ohio. I may be wrong but until Goodyear is willing to show the data that supports their numbers, I'm a little suspect.
I suspect the overall reported number of 500 is also low. I directly asked how many people were being let go and the company refused to answer. I was just told that the cuts were significant. I pushed again and again the company refused to confirm any numbers. Overall, Goodyear could have handled the employee communication a lot better. Now it is time to move on to new and better opportunities.
Hello - I am a reporter at Channel 3 here in Cleveland. We are reporting on the recent announcement of layoffs in Akron at Goodyear. If any employee sees this and would like to have your voice heard, please contact me when you see this. By cell at 504-717-7535 or email at carmenblackwell@wkyc.com. Take care and God bless you.
That is terrible news! Wish you all strength in face of this gross corporate irresponsibility. This is happening in many areas. All the very best in your future endeavors. Treating any company as your family has its drawbacks. Best of luck!
It comes as no surprise in this economy that layoffs occurred. And it's only going to get worse. Your vote for the id--t in the WH secured this result.
A vast majority mid 50’s and older age. As stated in previous post, many with 15-30+ years service. All of this would align with salaried associates at the higher end of pay. Not a good story for the famed company.
I can confirm that I was laid off from the Akron office this week along with several team members in the R&D group. Seems to be a significant, company wide lay off.