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American tiremaker Goodyear Tire & Rubber plans to shut its long-running Fayetteville plant and eliminate approximately 1,700 jobs in what would be one of the biggest factory closures by employment loss in recent North Carolina history.
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Goodyear announced this week it is talking with the local workers’ union to end site operations by December 2027.
“The tire industry is changing fast, and Goodyear must change with it,” company spokesperson Kylie Ulanski said Thursday in an emailed statement to The News & Observer. “As the only remaining U.S.-based tire manufacturer, we are committed to U.S. manufacturing in today’s evolving market.”
A representative for the local union, United Steelworkers Local 959, declined to comment on the announced closure.
Goodyear is among the top private employers in Fayetteville, the Cumberland County city of 209,000 that is home to Fort Bragg. The company opened a local tire factory through its subsidiary, Kelly-Springfield Tire Company, in 1969. Today this facility spans more than 2 million square feet north of downtown Fayetteville, about 65 miles south of Raleigh.
In 2021, Goodyear became the lone U.S.-based tire producer when it acquired rival Cooper Tire. But financial challenges have dogged the Ohio manufacturer over the past two years; Goodyear reported losing $249 million in the first three months of 2026 and $1.7 billion in 2025.
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“Conditions in the Americas were challenging,” Goodyear CEO Mark Stewart told investors on a May 7 earnings call. “Weak consumer and commercial demand, retailer and distributor de-stocking and increased manufacturer promotion weighed on the results.”
Ulanski said Goodyear took “extensive efforts” to keep its Fayetteville plant going. “This difficult action is necessary to strengthen Goodyear’s ability to compete in today’s marketplace and support the long-term health of the business,” she wrote.
Local government officials expressed their views on the likely factory shutdown in a public statement Tuesday. “While this news is disappointing, Fayetteville has always risen to meet challenges head-on,” Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said. “We are redoubling our efforts to connect our workforce to new opportunities and ensure our residents are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow.”
According to state records, the last time a North Carolina factory closure impacted more than 1,700 workers was in early 2022, when a fire destroyed a QVC distribution center in Rocky Mount. That led to more than 1,900 layoffs when the firm decided not to rebuild.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 4:00 AM.