'It's really sad': Goodyear lays off 82 employees, including about 40 in Akron

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. last week laid off 82 employees, including about 40 located in Akron, a company spokesman confirmed via email on Monday.

The positions were "across Goodyear's corporate functions, Global Operations & Technology, and Americas business," the spokesman said.

"These actions are part of evolving our organizational structure to be more cost-efficient, improve our profitability and position the company for long-term success," the spokesman said.

The former Goodyear employees who were laid off will receive severance pay, benefits continuation and outplacement assistance, the spokesman said.

Melissa Gould, a Goodyear employee of 11 years, was included in last week's layoffs. She started with the company as a senior secretary and worked in that position for six years, she said.

More recently, she was base operations coordinator for the airship side of the business, which she said involved administrative duties but also scheduling blimp passenger rides and building tours.

Gould said she thought she would work her entire career at Goodyear.

"When you think of Akron, Goodyear is the first thing that comes to mind," Gould said. "And you have, literally, generations of family that, four or five generations in, they've all worked for Goodyear. And it's just a shame that it's becoming what it is, and it all has to do with money, the bottom line. But it's really sad when when you're sitting at your desk and you're seeing people that have given their whole career and being walked out the door with no explanation as to why."

The layoffs follow other recent rounds of layoffs at Goodyear, including the relocation of 175 positions to Costa Rica that the company shared with the Beacon Journal in July , which included layoffs at the company's Akron headquarters; and the trimming of 135 positions in the U.S. and Latin America that Goodyear President Mark Stewart announced to investors in May.

Also, in March, the Beacon Journal reported on Goodyear’s plans to cease operations at its Malaysia plant June 30, leaving about 550 employees jobless.

And in September of last year, Goodyear confirmed plans to remove about 1,200 positions in its Europe, Middle East and Africa sector.

Not including employees on leave, about 2,500 of Goodyear's approximately 71,000 employees work in Akron, the spokesman said.

The spokesperson said no union employees were affected by the layoffs last week.

Goodyear stock closed Monday at $8.85, up $0.08 (0.09%).

Patrick Williams covers growth and development for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at pwilliams@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @pwilliamsOH.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'It's really sad': Goodyear lays off 82 employees, including about 40 in Akron