Bridgestone/Firestone Plans Layoffs
NOVEMBER 19, 11:53 EST
By AMY GREEN
Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced Friday it will
lay off 1,100 workers at two plants and curtail production at a third because
of sluggish tire sales.
Workers at plants in Oklahoma City and LaVergne, Tenn., will be notified in
the next couple of weeks of layoffs that will take effect Jan. 21, the
company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the embattled tiremaker's chief financial officer announced his
retirement, and the company said it will replace him with the treasurer of
its Tokyo-based parent company, Bridgestone Corp.
The 700 workers being laid off in Oklahoma City represent 37 percent of the
plant's work force. Another 400 workers are being laid off in LaVergne, or 27
percent of that plant's work force.
Also, a plant in Warren County, Tenn., will shut down for two weeks beginning
Jan. 14, but no one will be laid off there, the company said.
Bridgestone/Firestone president and chief executive officer John T. Lampe
said he is optimistic sales will pick up next year, enabling the company to
bring back laid off employees.
``We are in a situation where sales of replacement tires have declined for
several reasons,'' he said. ``Obviously concerns surrounding the recall of
certain Firestone tires is a contributor to this decline. ... However, the
entire industry is experiencing a slowdown in sales.''
The company said it had already bolstered its inventory of tires in
anticipation of a strike earlier this year when it began experiencing
decreases in sales. The strike was averted when union workers accepted a
three-year contract Sept. 16 after difficult negotiations.
It is the second round of layoffs since Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone
announced in August a recall of 6.5 million tires. The ATX, ATX II and
Wilderness AT tires, most of them on Ford Explorers, have been linked to 119
deaths and 500 injuries in the United States.
The company announced Oct. 17 plans to lay off 450, or 25 percent, of its
1,950 workers in Decatur, Ill. In addition, it slowed production at its
LaVergne plant, with a full shutdown scheduled for Dec. 14 to Jan. 1. The
Oklahoma City plant will follow a similar slowdown schedule.
``Some people may ask why we did not take more drastic steps last month,''
Lampe said. ``As we recently began our budget development and sales forecast
processes for 2001, it became apparent our earlier production adjustments
were not adequate and a more aggressive plan was needed.''
The retirement announcement by Tetsuo Ando, 59, comes after 40 years with the
company and seven years as CFO. He will be replaced by Akira Nozawa, 51,
treasurer of Bridgestone Corp.
Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Christine Karbowiak said Ando's retirement
is not linked to the tire recall. ``Ando had been talking about retiring for
some time prior,'' she said.
Barry Green, executive vice president of Lippincott & Margulies, a corporate
and brand consultant based in New York, said Friday's developments do not
reflect well on the company.
``I think the timing of both stories certainly is not a positive thing going
forward,'' he said. ``Always the chief financial officer leaving raises big
question marks. Why would the chief financial officer leave in the middle of
a crisis?''
The company said Friday's developments will not affect its ability to replace
recalled tires. Lampe said about 80 percent, or 5 million, recalled tires
have been replaced, and he expects all waiting lists to be eliminated by the
end of November.
The company has appointed an investigation team to determine what caused the
tires to fail.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Indianapolis on Friday ordered
Bridgestone/Firestone to stop destroying its recalled tires until some can be
preserved for use as evidence in lawsuits against the company.

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