Update 1:30 p.m. Feb. 5: This story has been updated with comments from Goodyear.
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Goodyear plans 850 job cuts at its Danville plant, most of which will take effect by the end of this year, the company said Tuesday.
The tire manufacturer said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it reached an agreement on Jan. 30 with the United Steelworkers union and approved a plan “to reduce the Company’s production capacity and production cost per tire in Americas.”
The 850 job reductions will include employees and contractors.
The steelworkers union represented about 1,800 Danville plant employees as of October, according to the Danville Register & Bee, which first reported the news of the job reductions.
The union’s local representative declined to comment on Wednesday.
“Goodyear is committed to supporting those impacted associates through this transition,” the company said in a statement.
Goodyear declined to provide the total number of current employees at the facility.
The company said last month that it plans to “refocus” that plant toward producing aviation tires and conducting mixing operations, in which chemicals are combined to make rubber, and move the majority of its commercial tire production to other plants.
It said at the time that its goal was to “strengthen the Danville plant’s competitiveness and preserve as many jobs as possible.”
In the SEC filing, Goodyear said that it anticipates the reductions will cost it between $130 million and $140 million this year but will improve its operating income by $15 million this year and $65 million each year thereafter.
Danville City Manager Ken Larking said in a statement that the city will “work closely with state and regional partners to connect displaced employees with resources, including workforce training, job placement assistance, and support services.”
“Danville has proven time and again that we are a resilient community,” Larking said. “While this news is difficult, we remain committed to strengthening our local economy, attracting new investment, and creating opportunities for our workforce. We will continue working with Goodyear and our economic development partners to navigate this transition and support those impacted during this challenging time.”
Goodyear opened the Danville plant in 1966 and has been Danville’s largest private employer for years. During its first 50 years, the plant produced 100 million truck and aircraft tires, according to a city proclamation on its semicentennial anniversary.
Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear (NASDAQ:GT) is a multinational tire maker with 57 manufacturing facilities in 23 countries. It employs about 72,000 people worldwide.