Goodyear says Fayetteville plant closure will help reshape Americas manufacturing network

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Goodyear says Fayetteville plant closure will help reshape Americas manufacturing network

August 24, 2026

RubberWorld

Fayetteville, NC — Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. says the planned closure of its Fayetteville plant is part of a broader effort to reshape its manufacturing network in the Americas, with the company expecting the move to improve operating income by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Goodyear reiterated the planned closure in its Aug. 5 second-quarter earnings announcement, saying the Fayetteville facility will be closed as part of a strategy to “align its footprint with its evolving product portfolio and improve the competitiveness of its manufacturing network in the Americas.”

The company expects the action to improve Americas segment operating income by about $90 million in 2027 and approximately $270 million annually beginning in 2028, according to the earnings release.

Goodyear expects the closure to result in between $535 million and $565 million in pretax charges. Of that amount, the company estimates $190 million to $210 million will be cash costs. The action is expected to be substantially completed by the end of 2027.

The Fayetteville plant, which employs roughly 1,700 people, has been a major manufacturing employer in Cumberland County for decades. The facility began operations in 1969 under Kelly-Springfield Tire Co., which later became part of Goodyear.

The closure comes as Goodyear works to reduce costs and adjust to weaker demand and increased competition in the tire industry.

Goodyear reported a $204 million net loss for the second quarter, compared with net income of $254 million during the same period a year earlier. The company’s Americas segment reported a $10 million operating loss for the quarter, compared with $141 million in operating income a year earlier.

Americas tire volume fell 8.7% during the quarter, while replacement tire volume declined 13%. Goodyear said the decline reflected lower industry sell-in volume in North America, increased competition and the company’s planned reduction of lower-tier product offerings.

At the same time, original-equipment tire volume in the Americas increased 8.7%, which Goodyear attributed to market-share gains.

The company said its broader restructuring efforts, known as Goodyear Forward, generated $95 million in benefits during the second quarter. Goodyear said manufacturing-footprint optimization is underway, with the recently announced actions expected to generate about $270 million in annual savings by 2028.

The company has not said in its latest earnings announcement where all of the Fayetteville plant’s production will be shifted.

For Fayetteville and Cumberland County, the closure represents the loss of one of the region’s largest industrial employers and a facility that has operated for more than five decades.

Goodyear initially announced in May that it was in discussions with the United Steelworkers about clo

*Source: Rubber World. For reference only.