Firestone Fibers and Textiles will permanently lay off 81 workers at two locations in Gaston County, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce.
The company began with its first plant in Gastonia in 1935 and added a nearby site in the Gaston County portion of Kings Mountain in 1992. Tokyo-based Bridgestone bought Firestone for $2.6 billion in 1988. The plant in Kings Mountain is more than 500,000 square feet and is near Crowders Mountain and visible from Interstate 85.
The plant manufactures tire cord and Bridgestone, the world’s second-largest tire manufacturer behind Michelin. It reported $24.7 billion in revenue in 2024.
Firestone employs 261 workers at the Kings Mountain site and 28 in Gastonia, according to a company spokesperson. It also has a tire plant in Wilson and Firestone Complete Auto Care stores across the state.
Firestone released the following statement: “On Jan. 27, Bridgestone announced Firestone Fibers and Textiles is reducing output at its Kings Mountain and Gastonia, North Carolina, facilities due to ongoing changes in global market dynamics and supply chains. The primary supply adjustment is outsourcing a product primarily shipped to Joliette, Canada. This operational change will result in a reduction in the workforce in its Kings Mountain and Gastonia, North Carolina, facilities.
Bridgestone said it would seek to minimize the impact of the decision on employees and the community, while honoring commitments to members of the United Steelworkers unions who work at the plant.
“Ongoing changes in global market dynamics and supply chains are driving this change to the company’s fabric operations,” Bridgestone noted. Citing its strategic plan, the company said it would “focus on injecting more resources and investment into its core tire and solutions businesses in the future.”
Seventy-seven of the workers to be laid off will come from the Kings Mountain plant, with four others working at an office on Dalton Street in west Gastonia. Firestone will eliminate 46 positions on March 27 and the remaining 35 on April 28, according to the notice.
Six employees losing their jobs are salaried and not represented by a union. The remaining 75 are represented by United Steelworkers Local 1133L. Some of the employees will have bumping rights under a collective bargaining agreement between the union and the company.
Union leaders did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Asked if Bridgestone’s move is related to higher tariffs, the company spokesperson repeated the press release explanation, citing changes in global market dynamics and supply chains.