Wolverhampton Goodyear workers are 'disgusted and upset' at closure

The Wolverhampton site is Goodyear's only UK manufacturing plant

Workers at tyre company Goodyear have said they are "disgusted, upset and angry" at the decision to close its only UK manufacturing site.

All 330 workers at the Wolverhampton plant are expected to lose their jobs.

Trevor White, who has worked at the factory for 40 years, said the closure would be "another nail in the coffin for the manufacturing industry in Wolverhampton".

Goodyear "considered all options" before deciding to shut, bosses said.

'Trusted workforce'

Wayne Devaney, who has been at the plant for 27 years, said the workforce had "grafted really hard and done everything it could to make the factory viable", and that the announcement had "come out of the blue".

Eric Fric, managing director of Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK, blamed the impact of inexpensive imports, the cost of transport and "the strength of the pound".

Goodyear said its plans were subject to consultation with staff and unions, and it was "determined to find responsible and fair solutions for all affected employees".

The plant, which has been at the site since 1927, is due to close by the summer of 2017.

A taskforce, led by Wolverhampton City Council, is being set up to support staff.

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said it would be working with the local authority to help workers find new jobs.

History of Goodyear tyres in Wolverhampton

• According to its website, Goodyear was founded in 1898 in Akron, Ohio

• The company began to expand internationally and in 1913 plans were announced to open a branch in Rio de Janeiro

• Goodyear bought the Wolverhampton premises in July 1927 and the first tyres were manufactured in December that year

• In 1939 the company switched to war production. Factory employees worked 20 days on and just one day off

• At its height, the factory employed 7,000 workers

The chairman of Goodyear's branch of the Unite trade union, Cyril Barret, said the Wolverhampton plant had been regarded as one to aspire to.

"When you review it, the performance of the workforce, the Goodyear management globally were bringing people in here to witness the transformation of the plant, its improvement in productivity.

"The workforce was trusted to deliver products all over Europe.

"The news of the closure is devastating."