TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) - Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. said Wednesday it will close its plant in Albany, Ga., as the company faces higher costs and shrinking demand.
Workers were told in October that the company had to make a dramatic cut. Findlay, Ohio-based Cooper said it will keep open plants in Findlay; Texarkana, Ark.; and Tupelo, Miss.
Cooper studied each of its plants while the factories and their communities worked to provide Cooper with reasons to keep operating.
In Findlay, where about 1,100 work in the factory, union workers voted to accept a pay cut. In Texarkana, the union voted to scuttle its current contract in favor of one in which workers would freeze salaries and make other concessions.
The company says it is the only tire company that still has most of its manufacturing in the United States and that competition from imports combined with less demand has cut into profits.
Cooper told workers Wednesday that the three remaining plants would move to around-the-clock production, seven days a week and that staff may be added. The company said it would take 12 months to close the Albany factory, which employs 1,300.
Union workers at Texarkana on Saturday voted 84 percent to 16 percent to adopt the new contract. The same workers went on strike for a month in 2005 over health benefits, returning to work after a narrow majority accepted the company proposal.
About a year later, Cooper Tire converted the factory to a "flex" plant, which trimmed the worker count from 1,900 and made the plant more adaptable to increases and decreases in production.
Steelworkers Local 752L President David Boone, the Texarkana leader, told workers at a Friday meeting that Cooper Tire could restore the plant to continuous production status if the factory is kept open.
RELATED STORIES:
"Arkansas workers OK contract concessions," 12/15/08
"(Findlay) Cooper workers OK concessions," 12/10/08
LINKS:
BizBuzz blog from Tupelo, Miss.
where did my post go? odd that it seemed to have disappeared. but then again...
for those people who worked very hard at their jobs and then ended up losing them, i'm sorry- i know that has to be hard! i hope you are able to find work soon. and find a company with huge morals, values and standards. find bosses who are honorable, that you can respect.
for this cooper company that makes a tire without a belt wedge and kills innocent and precious family members- shame on you! how do you sleep at night? you took away our child by your sickening greed to save the almighty dollar. don't act like this is not happening because hundreds have either died or been permantly disabled. our child was killed and died a very tragic and horrific death.
i hope to God that justice will be done before another unknown victim suffers or dies. my heart has been torn into shreds and my life is forever changed. what we have learned since the death of our child about your company is revolting. may God have mercy on you-
Posted by: AgRiEvInGfAm | March 13, 2009 at 07:54 AM
My heart goes out to all of the cooper tire employees, my mom and dad, my boyfriend, who all work at cooper tire in albany, georgia. You all will be in my prayers.
Posted by: ms | January 11, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Where were you Cooper officials when the Albany Vo-Tech had a meeting with Cooper employees this week? There were congressmen present but not anyone representing Cooper to answer questions the employees had. Approximately 1,000 employees were in attendance.
Posted by: Question | January 01, 2009 at 08:17 PM
A meeting was held at the Albany Vo-Tech school for Cooper employees this week. Not one of the Cooper officials was present and approx. 1,000 Cooper employees were in attendance. Where were you in our time of need to answer questions?
Posted by: Question | January 01, 2009 at 08:09 PM
To Mr. Armes and Board Members,
We hope you had a Merry Christmas and maybe found a place in your heart to rescind your decision to close the Albany plant. Please spread the specs and allow the Albany plant to continue production of your products. Christmas is all about caring, compassion, sharing, and all of the other adjectives that describes good will. It certainly is not about the grief, heartache and desperation you are causing in this community. Other industries that have closed in the past have offered their employees huge packages that includes 1 year of salary, health care for 1 year, many months of notice, options to transfer and I could go on. These employees worked very hard. Many hours worked without pay were devoted to you.
Please give these employees a "Happy New Year" with a change of heart.
Posted by: Reconsideration | December 26, 2008 at 08:24 PM
I would hate to be the local Cooper dealer. He probably just got put out of business and he had a good one. Guess he is expendable too.
Posted by: Americans for America | December 25, 2008 at 04:38 PM
In this area alone, you figure maybe 2 vehicles per household that formerly bought Cooper tires. Next time there won't be a purchase of Cooper tire.
Maybe the country will get the message. Really cheap foreign labor and really cheap tires. That is what the CEO and executives of Cooper Tire Co. want. They are padding their bank accounts with huge salaries and stocks based on overhead. Guess greed makes you happier for now. Guess what - one day you will answer for your deeds.
Posted by: Quality | December 24, 2008 at 07:01 AM
Come on down Kumo Tire Co. You've got 2100 trained employees that would love to make you some money just waitin on you.Oh, but this time bring some good rubber and more reliable equipment.We can do it.
Posted by: Albany citizen | December 23, 2008 at 11:27 PM
TO THE FINDLAY OFFICE EMPLOYEE,YOU TURN A PROFIT BY SELLING DAMN TIRES NOT BY CLOSING YOUR US PLANTS AND REPLACING THEM WITH LOW QUALITY FOREIGN PLANTS.IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR COST IS IF YOU AIN'T SELLIN THEM.THEY ALL SIT IN THE SAME WAREHOUSE.MAYBE COOPER HAS THIS BRILLIANT IDEA THEY CAN SELL THE TIRES CHEAPER BY MANUFACTURING THEM IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND INCREASE THEIR SALES. BOY, THATS A NEW IDEA. CONSUMERS ARE EDUCATED NOW, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR , AND CHEAP TIRES BUILT BY CHEAP LABOR EQUALS POOR QUALITY.BAD STRATEGY. WORK WITH MEXICANS SOME TIME AND YOU WILL SEE. ALBANY GOT A DOSE OF THAT. HARD WORKERS BUT THEY DON'T COMPREHEND REAL WELL. THEY WILL REQUIRE ALOT OF BABYSITTING.
Posted by: COOPER FAMILY MEMBER | December 23, 2008 at 11:10 PM
Albany Cooper Plant employees,
Merry Christmas and many wishes for a safe, healthy and happy New Year.
We are praying for you and for your families and are lifting you up. You did your best and you need to hold your heads high for giving Cooper your best. Cooper CEO's and board members did not do what they said they were going to do. That is inevitable. The 90 day evaluation which turned into 60. They did not do what they said they would do.
Thanks to the Findlay, Texakana and Tupelo employees who are praying for us and who care about us.
Albany, please Know we love each of you and appreciate you.
Posted by: Merry Christmas | December 23, 2008 at 08:22 PM
Findlay office employee
You get comp-time, you get half days vacations. You come into work late, take long breaks and lunches. We went to Lean Manufacturing and you can say we Lean. We lean on the machine and on brooms and tables. You company people have no clue. Just because you have that little paper you think you know every thing. Why doesn't the CEO and his V-P's take a large pay cut. Nobody is worth the money that they are making. Go ahead, close the Findlay plant. That would be doing a lot of us a big favor.
Posted by: Plant Employee | December 23, 2008 at 08:23 AM
If your the plant that gets the 60" presses. YOUR NEXT
Posted by: SLT/LLT BUILDER | December 23, 2008 at 08:16 AM
What happened to the pending $240 million dollar lawsuit Texarkana's union had against Cooper Tire for contract violations? Did it just disappear as a concession?
Posted by: Puzzled observer | December 22, 2008 at 02:18 AM
I hope the corporate execs and board members who just put 2100 people out of work have a Merry X-mas with their families and can buy alot of expensive gifts with the fat bonuses they will take for closing the Albany plant.There is no one to blame but upper management for not restructuring our plants sooner so that we all could keep our jobs. They waited too long but then again it didn't affect them.If we build tires at an average cost of $15.00 per unit and sell them on average of $100.00 per tire retail am I gonna hear we can't make a profit? Its not the cost thats hurting us, its the lack of sales. So what if you can build them cheaper in Mexico, you still aren't selling them.So you just put 2100 Americans out of work to employ 2100 Mexicans and you still aren't selling the tires.Makes no sense to me. Now we have tarnished the Cooper reputation and we will sell even less tires. It ain't all about price,cost, and profit like the CEO and board think it is. Cooper has turned on Americans and employed foreigners in their place.This will hurt our company in more ways than we know.
Posted by: Cooper employee | December 22, 2008 at 02:07 AM
As a Findlay office employee, all I can feel is sorrow. Sorrow for everyone in Albany, & sorrow for the remaining workers in the other plants. You are taking all your management frustrations out in this blog & are basically clueless. Cooper will be closing more than Albany if a profit is not turned. In these economic times when banks are failing, stores are closing, is Cooper just suppose to just turn the other way & somehow magically try to continue as usual? Do you really think that management really wanted to let people go?
It is a war... the factory against the office workers. The factory thinks the office doesn't know what they are doing. There is no team.
Well, to all you factory workers... What is your answer as to how Cooper is suppose to turn a profit in these economic times?
Sure wish my office job was safe... I have no union to protect me. Do you know how many "Black Fridays" there have been in the Findlay Offices in the past three years? Due to these cutbacks, many are picking up the slack for those that have been let go. Do we blame management? No... we work harder, & 50-60 hour work weeks, & there is no overtime pay for us. And we are thankful we have a job & support management's decisions instead of placing blame.
Please continue to work hard, support your company, as we all need to be a team now more than ever.
Posted by: Findlay Office Employee | December 21, 2008 at 10:49 PM
I walked in cooper with my head up and i will walk out with my head up!!!!!COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE!!!!!
Posted by: CHRIS | December 21, 2008 at 08:54 PM
Cooper Tire’s chances called into question.Officials say the closing of Cooper Tire in Albany may have been inevitable, despite valiant efforts to retain the manufacturer.Susan McCord susan.mccord@albanyherald.com
ALBANY — Georgia’s economic development commissioner says state and local officials did all they could to keep Cooper Tire open in Albany.
“The community and the state — from the governor to the economic development authority to Bodine, the mayor, the congressman, the legislators — everybody really stepped up on this Cooper Tire matter,” Ken Stewart, Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development said Friday.
Dougherty Commissioner Jeff “Bodine” Sinyard had tears in his eyes at a Wednesday news conference, when the public learned that Cooper Tire would close its Albany doors within 12 months, leaving 1,300 workers and 800 contract personnel without jobs.
Cooper challenged its four plants in October with a capacity study based on 10 criteria, one of which was government incentives. One plant would close while the other three stayed open.
But skepticism about whether Albany ever even had a chance is growing.
An at-will state, Georgia markets its low union presence to industries, and unlike Cooper’s tire plants in Findlay, Ohio, and Texarkana, Ark., Albany was not a union shop.
Albany’s competitive labor costs, however, its logistics advantages and ample room for expansion were insufficient to sway Cooper, nor was an incentive package valued at close to $32 million, Stewart said.
Cooper “wanted cash,” he said, and all four communities ponied up.
With little influence over the study’s other nine factors, “at the end of the day, where we really had control was on the money side,” Stewart said.
Besides tax breaks, bond issues and low-interest loans previously reported to be a part of the package there was actual cash.
“The cash was in exchange for their pledge to add new employees, as well as to support the existing plant,” Stewart said.
The state of Arkansas paid Cooper $2 million to keep the Texarkana plant open, The Associated Press reported. Mississippi’s package to retain the Cooper plant in Tupelo was valued at $30 million. Findlay, also the site of Cooper’s headquarters, provided three years’ free water and sewer service and payroll tax credits.
They may not have needed to.
“We were told at a high level within Cooper that we could have put two to three times more in” the package, “and it would not have made a difference,” Stewart said. “This was a decision that was made even before we began the negotiations.”
Economic development officials continued to negotiate with Cooper, despite preliminary concerns the competition might not be sincere, he said.
“From an economic development perspective, we apply that filter every time,” Stewart said. “But you can’t take a chance on losing 1,300 or 2,100 jobs in a community. It’s the wrong thing to do for all the people that work there, and for the state of Georgia.”
Albany ought to “hold its head high” for its efforts to keep Cooper and know the community will emerge stronger than ever, Stewart said.
The loss amounts to one percent of Georgia’s 205,000 manufacturing jobs and has got the attention of development officials, who are “redoubling efforts to try to bring new jobs and investments to Albany,” Stewart said.
Georgia is no stranger to the tire industry, and Pirelli and Toyo facilities are expanding in other cities. A new Kumo plant, though delayed, is opening near Macon, he said.
Posted by: Albany Herald today | December 21, 2008 at 08:31 PM
I feel so sorry for all those in Albany right now,, I pray that all of you can find a good enough job to support yourself and your families. I have to believe that this downfall of Cooper hasn't just happened under this management, you have to go back far enough to place alot of this blame on Mr. Dattilo, he started the rapid decline of Cooper Tire
Posted by: Tim | December 21, 2008 at 06:54 PM
Well I feel sorry for the person who gets stuck building SLT tires. You know nothing of struggling until you try to pull a 33inch long, 60 pound carcass off of the drum.
Posted by: bigtime | December 21, 2008 at 04:13 PM
I gotta cry foul on this 90 day evaluation BS.We were told that a 90 day evaluation would be done on all 4 plants and that there would be 10 points of interest that would be evaluated to forecast the " future potential" of each plant.In the end we were told it came down to only one point, cost per unit, not ten.Our schedule had been modified and we at the Albany plant were told here it is , see what you can do with it the next 90 days.Of course everyone knows by now that we didn't get the 90 days, they axed us in 60.But here is some info I have not seen made public yet. In those 60 days Albany outcured all 3 other plants from week 1 on a percentage basis some as much as 10 per cent and reduced our cost per unit by $8.00 per tire by Dec. One of the other plants actually went above us in cost per unit for that month and their trend was rising as ours was falling.We reduced our scrap levels to half what they had been.We busted our asses to show our "potential" with a manageable schedule.I think in the end it scared some people and thats why we were cut short. The decision had apparently already been made and we were wasting our time. Why did Cooper not see how much we had improved? Did it really matter? In the end we were told our performance over the last 12 months was just to poor to overcome.What happened to "future potential"? Could they not see we were overcoming it? The public needs to know the truth. The Albany plant proved their potential to reduce costs and our customer fill rate was 96% compared to a corporate average of 90%. So do we have the truth? We were also told the Mexican plant would be serving the Mexican market and was not a factor in US sales. Is that why our local Cooper dealer has been receiving tires from Mexico for the last 3 months?We even offered the company a paid for performance pay system which would pay employees only when they were producing and cut out all the unproductive pay time which would have dramatically cut labor costs.What else could we have done to save this plant? Nothing seemed to be enough.
Posted by: The Truth | December 21, 2008 at 01:06 AM
Mr. Armes, CEO and President of Cooper Tire and Board Members,
Is there not some way that you and the board members can reverse your decision to close the Albany plant? There has got to be a way to work through this devastation for these 1400 employees and 700 contract employees. Could you not spread the specs around? Did management consider the freezing of wages for a period of time or other solutions? What kind of past management did you send here? Did it not even occur to you to close one of your foreign plants or are you paying really cheap labor to manufacture cheap products?
Please bring your plants home to the USA. As you can see what the economic situation is in America today. I try to buy American made products as others are doing now.
When you go to sleep at night and wake up each morning please visualize the devastation on these employee's faces, the sadness and hardships you have inflicted. Visualize the families that have given so much to Cooper.
We are a hard-working community and we care about each other. God loves us.
General public can go to the internet and type in Cooper Tire Board Members and read about each of the nine.
Posted by: Question | December 20, 2008 at 09:03 PM
and another thing......none of that garbage will go on my families vehicles. Might as well have a uniroyal that the sidewall blows out of.
As far as the unions go.....grown men can walk in and talk to their boss at any time in a none union environment........AS LONG AS THEY DO THEIR JOB WHILE WORKING.
Posted by: Rocky Goddard | December 20, 2008 at 08:44 PM
this link is for "quality matters"
http://www.tiredefects.com/defective-cooper-tires-unsafe-production.cfm
lawsuits will not HELP keep "your" plant open...........your own words...."Quality Matters", like the quality we put into every HMMWV that we build at Albany MCLB.......what happens if you lose Red River?
Posted by: Rocky Goddard | December 20, 2008 at 08:34 PM
Someday Upper Management will have to answer to someone more powerful than them. To all CEO's , when you die your earthly possessions don't mean a thing. God will make judgement on you.
Posted by: Jesus Is The Reason For The Season | December 20, 2008 at 04:24 PM
Take a look at the history of Roy Armes and his cronies. They make a living going from company to company closing plants.
Posted by: Albany ex-employee | December 20, 2008 at 02:48 PM
To Henry H., this is not a dying industry.Its a dying economy because US manufacturers are being run by a different "breed" of CEO's now that are transferring our economy across the borders to fill their pockets.Not only are they destroying American families they are raping the foreign workers for pennies on the dollar wages.The American people must take back their economy with the help of our government now before it is too late. As the Cooper management used as one of their excuses"we are the only US tire manufacturer left with most our plants in the US" it sounds as if they are the last train out. Pretty soon only thing left in US will be the corporate offices raking in the money.Doesn't take much skill to do that.
Posted by: Albany ex-employee | December 20, 2008 at 02:43 PM
To the remaining Cooper employees, don't think for one minute you are saved from what just happened to us. Cooper has turned the corner from being a loyal American based company to join the rest of the greedy corporate horde that plagues America today.These corporate "whores" move from company to company and destroy peoples' lives in the name of the almighty dollar. They are all about filling their pockets with bonuses and keeping the stockholders happy that pay them. The US government "must" step in and force these jobs back home and stop these roaming golddiggers from destroying our economy.Who in the hell cares if imported products are cheaper to the US consumer when the very people they expect to buy these cheaper products will have no jobs to buy them.Truth be known these men are smart enough to realize this so they are all just in on the fast train to make themselves rich before that train derails and it will.As of today I will not buy another tire not made in this country.The Cooper Tire I knew 20 years ago has been gone since the beginning of the hiring of outside CEO's and execs the last decade.As long as Cooper promoted from within and kept the corporate management "local" and "loyal" we had no problems. Get rid of the outsiders and take your company back or you "will" be next.
Posted by: Albany ex-employee | December 20, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Now it's time for the CEO and Company workers to take cut's. Did you know that Cooper has more Vice- Pres. than it did 10 years ago. Our Plant Manager and Production Manager here in Findlay need to be let go. They're running this plant into the ground. I will never buy Cooper Tires for my vehicles because every day I see the poor quality that goes into the tires. Nobody in the plant cares what kind of tire we put out because the attitude in this plant is terrible.
Posted by: Junk Tires | December 20, 2008 at 10:22 AM
As an Albany employee I can say with great confidence that the last set of Cooper tires I will ever buy are on my truck right now. Go Michelin!!!
Posted by: bigtime | December 20, 2008 at 08:55 AM
Was closing inevitable?
When Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. announced Wednesday to employees that the Albany plant will be shut down in 2009, throwing 1,335 full-time employees and hundreds of contractors and part-timers on the unemployment rolls, the biggest surprise to some was the timing of the announcement.
Cooper officials in October had said they were looking at closing one of four U.S. plants. They said they would do a production study of the plants, take incentive plans from the communities in which the plants were based by Dec. 1 and make a decision by Jan. 19.
Instead, the announcement came eight days before Christmas. It certainly has cast a pall on the holidays for metro Albany and nearby counties that contributed to the work force. But then the Cooper board in Findlay probably had their own plans for the next couple of weeks, so they likely figured it best to go ahead and get this distasteful task taken care of as quickly as possible so that it wouldn’t hang over the holidays.
The bottom line — as it always is in business — was said to be the bottom line. Despite an incentive package that had a monetary value exceeding what Cooper’s other plants on the possible closure list offered and despite base salaries that were in line or lower than those plants, the cost of producing a tire in Albany was simply higher than any of the other plants, according to information from Cooper officials.
Based on the information that has come out, it may have been the right decision for Cooper, though it is a devastating blow to a region that is already the ninth-poorest congressional district in the United States. Metro Albany’s unemployment is above the state average, and it’s guaranteed to trend upward as the layoffs progress in the shutdown process that will be completed by the end of December 2009. Southwest Georgia and its retail core of metro Albany are already struggling with the stagnant economy that is gripping the nation. Losing the half-billion dollars a year that Cooper meant to the regional economy will make the hole deeper and harder to climb out of.
What makes the already bad situation even worse for many is the suspicion that the decision was made long before the study was conducted.
In mid-November, The Albany Herald received anonymous correspondence from a source that purported to be Cooper employees at Findlay, Ohio. The letter bore a Findlay postmark. Verifying the contents of the letter was problematic, but in retrospect the contents proved to be remarkably prescient. “It is with a great degree of certainty that we know Cooper plans to close the Albany plant,” the letter stated. “Unfortunately, the facility study is a ploy to fleece the other states out of any financial assistance they can offer.”
If that was the strategy, it worked ideally for Cooper. In Findlay, Ohio, union workers at the Cooper plant voted to accept a pay cut. In Texarkana, the union voted to kill its contract and pass another one in which workers’ salaries were frozen and other concessions were made. Mississippi is giving Cooper $30 million in incentives to keep its non-unionized plant in Tupelo open. As soon as the last piece — the Texarkana plant vote last week — fell into place, Cooper’s board met and the decision to put Southwest Georgians out of work was made.
If the decision to close the plant was made completely on the merits, then, painful as it is, you have to accept it for what it is — a reasoned business decision. But if Albany’s workers never had a chance and were merely held out as human bargaining chips so Cooper officials could wrestle better deals at their other plants, that is contemptible.
And given the timing, the letter and the chain of events, there unfortunately is some reason to be suspicious.
— The Albany Herald Editorial Board
Posted by: Newspaper | December 20, 2008 at 07:29 AM
Thank all of you Cooper employees in Findlay and Texakana for your kind words and for your many prayers for the Albany employees and their families. This is a sad time for our communities. I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Continue to pray for us and for Cooper management. Upper management has not displayed any compassion for the Albany employees. It is all about them. These employees at the Albany plant are human beings with a heart and love for their families, friends and fellow workers. They would give you the shirt off of their back to assist in times of need. They worked hard and gave their jobs their all. I say to Cooper employees - it is only a job. It does not take away from the man or woman that you are. Hold your head high and smile because you are a child of God and he will open another door. We love you.
Posted by: Someone who cares | December 20, 2008 at 06:07 AM
So you lost your job because it's too expensive to manufacture in the U.S.
A) This is what happens when you decide to take an unskilled or semi-skilled position in a dying industry. We each have a responsibility to ourselves and those dependent upon us update our skill sets and remain abreast of changes in our chosen industries. Heavy manufacturing plant closures have been a steady occurrence for 30 years. How could you not see this coming and why would you not do the things needed to be competitive in the job market (education, training, etc)?
B) You were overpaid to perform a job that can be done just as well by others overseas for a fraction of the cost. Cutting these expenses was a necessary step for Cooper to remain competitive in a fast-changing marketplace.
Posted by: Henry H. | December 19, 2008 at 10:38 PM
To the President, CEO and all Project Managers of Cooper Tire & Rubber:
I am not an employee of Cooper and Thank God I am not because what you so called "executives" of Cooper have done to Albany in unforgivable. Did any of you look into the eyes of the families, the children or other dependents of the Albany plant? I can answer that, NO. You live from day to day for the almighty dollar and to tell a long time employee of the Albany Plant that you will receive one weeks pay for each year worked provided you work through the 60th day is an insult to the person. If you leave on the 59th day, you leave with nothing.
In trying to remain a Christian, I will close except for the following statement.
To all former employees of the Cooper Plant in Albany, I wish you a Merry Christmas in celebrating our Lord Jesus Christ and the very best of New Years.
Posted by: TC's Spouse | December 19, 2008 at 08:27 PM
I heard that if someone from albany transfers to any of the other plants that they would be considered as a new hire and go back to starting pay and not have insurance for 1 year.Some of these people have built tire for 15 to 16 years. The cooper tire management needs to be fired for treating people like this. Most people in the other plants have never built slt tires or truck tires.There is some Quality builders in albany .
Posted by: rodney | December 19, 2008 at 05:56 PM
I am a 20 year worker at Findlay Cooper Plant. There is no words to express the feelings of what Cooper Tire has put all us through. Its been a roller coster of feelings. To loose what we have and for others to loose jobs, its tough. For the CEO of Cooper, I say, Try to have a Merry Christmas. Even though I still have my job, there is still no security in it. Cooper will take all the money it will save and pore it into China and Mexico. And they will, you wait and see, shut down another US plant, and shortly. This is a sad fact that makes me mad, and should make everyone in America mad. Our government should fine companies that take jobs overseas. Until we the people of the United States of America start putting our foot down, more and more jobs will leave. I am praying for you in Albany, and my heart goes out to you.
Posted by: T | December 19, 2008 at 11:07 AM
To the poster "Quality matters". You say its like the wild west down here.You should just get a small taste of the complex schedule we endured down here in Albany because none of the other plants wanted to build our specs.Yes, it was like the wild west the last few years since we became the plant of the unpaved, total chaos.Be glad you did not have to manage our schedule. Nobody else could and they sent many.Give us a Tupelo schedule and we would be the #1 plant in the company.It takes a self serving jerk to judge those in our demise.We worked hard to overcome the many hurdles thrown at us and all for naught.Had the company spread the these specs out among all 4 plants we may all still have jobs.
Posted by: Albany employee | December 19, 2008 at 08:37 AM
I have talked with and have seen many of the Cooper employees here in Albany since the announcement was made to close. It is a sad time.
They do not need any ugly remarks made to them. Think of the employee who has a spouse with cancer who is on chemo and this is their only source of income. Think of the families with children. Think of the single parent. These employees care about each other and what is happening to them. They need our prayers. They need our compassion. They have considered it a priviledge to work for Cooper and are appreciative. Management could have worked something out throughout the Cooper plants to have kept this one open but they were too busy sending business out of the country. What happened to living and working in the USA and keeping things made in the USA?
Please remember these families and have allots of compassion for what they are going through.
Posted by: TC | December 19, 2008 at 06:12 AM
It was real Dirty of Cooper to make this announcement a week before Christmas, they couldn't have waited til after the New Year. I live in Albany, GA, but I dont work at Cooper Tire and this will be the 3rd Manufacturing facility that we have lost since 2005. I worked for one them and lost my job to the company being outsourced to Mexico. It's a shame that companies care more about their bottom line then about their Employees. Have they ever considered lowering the price of the tires, so more people could afford them? Cooper Tires are one of the Most expensive tires on the market today. My heart goes out to all the Employees and their families, stay strong and have a Merry Christmas!!!
Posted by: Beth | December 18, 2008 at 08:22 PM
Albany was right not to Unionize. If Albany had went Union it would have closed long ago because of the extra Union costs. Being non-union was the ONLY thing that kept costs down so it would be open this long. I believe that Cooper already knew that it would close Albany but used the threat to get free money from Texarkana.
Posted by: Jim Rice | December 18, 2008 at 06:16 PM
As an Albany employee I learned one thing from this for sure. Vote the unions in. We were loyal to Cooper throughout the years and listened to management and kept the union out.Guess which plants stayed open.
Posted by: Albany employee | December 18, 2008 at 05:37 PM
I am the wife of an Albany Cooper Plant employee. I first want to thank all of the kind people from the other plants and towns for their words of encouragement and prayers. We (several of the wives) had all been praying for all of the workers in all the plants and hoping by some miricle they would all stay open. It didn't happen and it is a little tough, but at least the suspense is over and we know which way to go now. I again want to thank all of you. We are going to be OK and your prayers will help. T.S.
Posted by: Tracey | December 18, 2008 at 05:18 PM
Party time in Findlay!!!!!!!!! Nothing personal but that is just good business. My hat is off to Cooper Management for pulling this off, you should all get a big bonus!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
God Bless Findlay!!! and Cooper Tire
Posted by: worker | December 18, 2008 at 04:22 PM
This is for NADA.... R U Serious? Do u know what u r saying? have u not listened to the news when they talk about china and mexico making cheap substandard products and shipping them to the UNITED STATES? Some of the products are causing our children to be sick "ever heard of lead poisoning"?
If you dont like the U.S. then leave. We must keep our american jobs and american people working and although my husband works at Findlay Cooper where we can say we were spared, this is NOT a Christmas present, this is a blessing. And for those of you who say God was watching over Findlay, God is watching over all of us! and for those of you in Albany, I believe good things will come your way... hang in there.
Posted by: Rene | December 18, 2008 at 03:47 PM
All this wailing and gnashing of teeth could have been avoided. Albany Cooper's cost per unit may have been affected by healthcare and other overhead allocations but the biggest problem was simply waste and the cost of dealing with high numbers of product defects. (The defective tires must be ground down and shipped out for recycling which - down there in Albany's case - costs real money.)
Albany didn't want to play ball, not that anyone can blame them for resisting extortion, but the other communities ponied up the quid pro quo. Albany is broke-ass from other giveaways and lack of spending control.
Then there is the high rate of violent crime in Albany and the low pool of good employees resulting from an abdication of community leadership and poor educational standards. Its like the wild west down there and who wants to be a part of that?
Posted by: Quality Matters | December 18, 2008 at 10:42 AM
I think Cooper could have timed this a little better. I am an employee at the Albany Plant, it is horrible that the plant is closing here......but would be just as horrible if any of the plants were closing. Findlay is the main plant, I doubt seriously there was ever a chance of them shutting down. This will be a hugh economic blow to our area, already there are NO jobs here. I think some of the comments on here are rude, talking about a strike that happened several years ago that YOU made the decision to be involved in. Thanks to all the people that left nice comments and my prayers go out to all Cooper employees......in a few years, it could be YOUR plant shutting down, So remember that. Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Albany employee | December 18, 2008 at 09:57 AM
As Cooper officials stated it was "cost per unit" that was the ultimate decision to close the Albany, Ga. plant. One of the factors in the "cost per unit" is health care to the employees and their families. Those in the Albany area know all to well that the "good old boy" system in Albany required Cooper Tire to obtain health care from a local public hospital that was much more expensive than health care that could have been taken from a local private hospital. Other major industries in Albany are starting to speak out about this system as it affects their health care cost. Transportation cost for transporting finished goods out of the Albany plant were also a major factor in this plants demise. I also lost my very good job in Albany some years ago due to this "cost per unit" factor vs. another plant. Cooper officials could have been more professional with the timing of their announcement, delaying this announcement until after Christmas would have helped moral. At least there if a closure time table, and severance package. Thanks, David.
Posted by: David Chatman | December 18, 2008 at 08:51 AM
To all the workers in Albany, I hope you find a job as quickly as possible. I worked for many years in a public Workforce Center and have helped many who lost their jobs, it is, and can be a very emotional period in your life.
I grew up in Texarkana and left many years ago, but I visit there often and understand what a hardship a closure would be if it happened there. Some of my family still work at the Texarkana plant or have retired from there.
I drive an American made car and buy products made in the USA when at all possible. God bless all the Cooper employees and good luck in whatever direction you go in 2009. I will be praying for all of you.
Posted by: Ray D | December 18, 2008 at 07:59 AM
My husband is an employee at the Albany, Cooper Plant. I would just like to say to all of those employees, God Bless each and everyone of you and your families. I know firsthand how devestating this is for you. I will be praying that each of our families will survive this horrible situation. Please keep your heads up and know that there are many, many thoughts and prayers going out to you at this time. Cling tighter to your families this holiday season and remember that even though these are desperate times, by the Grace of God, WE WILL SURVIVE.... God bless yall !!!!
Michelle Dean
Posted by: Michelle Dean | December 18, 2008 at 05:43 AM
Although the union is looked down on by many, I feel Albany signed their fate when they voted down becoming unionized. At least, they could have made concessions like the other unionized plants and maybe kept their jobs a little longer. I remember a girl I worked with at GM, who drove a mitzubishi car. She got laid off and wondered why. If you don't try to support AMERICA, then AMERICA won't be able to support you. The non union companies give their employees many benefits to make those employees think they'd be better off without the union. But, had the union members NOT gone out on strikes to better their working conditions, then the non union companies wouldn't have had to keep up with the wage increases and safety issues, to keep the union out. The union is not the answer, but it really has made a difference, and I think it might have made a difference here.
Posted by: A sad mom | December 18, 2008 at 03:19 AM
It is unfortunate for Albany employees. Nobody enjoys to see anyone lose jobs. Not one individual smiled during the announcement in Findlay. If truly a plant had to close, then this is the right decision. This is not a reflection of past management. As much as Albany people would like to blame the former plant manager he didn't run that place into the ground, it was well on its way before he arrived. Many people will cry foul, and this decision was unwarranted. The majority of the population in the remaining plants know the truth. I am truly sorry, don't blame me. Blame our nationally elected officials. America first. And Nada please move to China then fill this board in about your cost of living and quality of life.
Posted by: TStover | December 17, 2008 at 10:48 PM