Goodyear’s chemical plant on 56th Street in Niagara Falls, New York, is closing for good, and 51 people lose their jobs when it does on Dec. 30, according to a state layoff notice the Niagara Gazette reported. The tire maker told investors on Oct. 1 that its board had approved closing the Niagara Falls plant and a second chemical plant in Bayport, Texas, about 85 job reductions in all.
The plant has been part of the city for about 80 years. Spectrum News reports that the 28-acre site is expected to keep operating through the end of October, after which decommissioning begins. The layoff date on the state notice is later, which leaves two months between the end of production and the end of the paychecks for the people affected.
That gap matters to the 51 workers, who are represented by the United Steelworkers, and to everyone in Niagara Falls who depends on what the plant pays. The union’s Local 277 said it will bargain the effects of the decision, meaning the terms for people who are being let go. None of the reports on the closure lists those terms.
Stay ahead of government payment news: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. Join the Retirement Money Brief and we’ll send you our 2026 Government Check Reality Tracker as a welcome gift.
Get the Brief + the check tracker →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Why is Goodyear leaving the chemical business?
Goodyear sold most of its chemical business in 2025 and then decided to exit the rest, a company spokesperson told WAMC, so it can focus on “core products and services.” The spokesperson said the decision is difficult for the affected employees, whom Goodyear is committed to treating with “fairness, respect and transparency.”
The filing puts a price on the move: $55 million to $75 million in pre-tax charges, including about $30 million in cash, mainly for decommissioning the plants, associate-related costs and other exit expenses. About $35 million of the charges fall in the third quarter and about $15 million in the rest of 2026. Goodyear expects to finish the plan by the end of 2027, and says its Americas segment will earn about $15 million to $20 million more in operating income each year beginning in 2027.
What are the people in City Hall and Albany saying?
Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino told Spectrum News the news is “extremely disappointing” and said it is “another blow to our proud manufacturing heritage that once was the bedrock of the local economy.” He added that the closure “further erodes our fragile tax base.”
State Sen. Rob Ortt, whose district includes Niagara County, told WKBW, “Bad day for Niagara, you’re losing a large taxpayer.” He said he is most worried about the workers who will lose their pay. A neighbor who has lived on 59th Street for 70 years told the station the closure is not a victory, and wondered what the company will leave behind once it is gone.
What does the plant’s pollution record have to do with the closing?
Nothing in Goodyear’s statement links the two, but the plant’s record is part of the local story. Reporting by BTPM, Public Health Watch and Inside Climate News found in 2024 that the plant had released a known bladder carcinogen into the air for at least 15 years because of faulty pollution controls. After that, the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a penalty and ordered permanent controls installed by Oct. 31, 2026, the same day the plant is expected to stop operating.
The Gazette notes that nearby residents have asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to act, and that Goodyear said in December 2024 the plant was in full compliance with its permit.
Where do the 51 workers go from here?
New York posts layoff notices on the Labor Department’s WARN page, and the department directs people to its WARN dashboard, where notices can be filtered by county and industry. Dec. 30 is the date the layoffs take effect for the 51 people on the notice. What severance, if any, they receive is a matter for the union bargaining that Local 277 says it will pursue.
With Niagara Falls losing a big taxpayer, are you using every property-tax break you can?
A homeowner in a city whose mayor calls its tax base fragile has reason to check which property-tax breaks are already in use. A household that loses a plant paycheck on Dec. 30 has even more reason to look at every house cost it carries into January.
The Keep-It Starter Bundle is a 95-page download of nine short guides, one for each place a retirement quietly leaks money. It is not a job-search tool. One of the nine is about cutting house costs, with every senior property-tax break and the equity options for homeowners, and the same bundle includes the guide on cutting the tax bill.
Get the house-cost guide and eight others, with the senior property-tax breaks laid out →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
