Rally held for Sumitomo Rubber employees as they head to unemployment

TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Hundreds of Sumitomo Rubber employees gathered for a rally Monday to demand severance packages and express their shock after the company announced the Tonawanda plant’s closure last week.

In total, about 1,500 workers will be out of work. The last day on the job for hourly employees is Monday, with other workers leaving at the end of the week and in the coming months as Sumitomo winds down operations.

Many employees have no idea what they’ll do next to find work.

“I thought I could be here long term, so to have to restart and start that process from the beginning again, it’s kind of slap in the face,” said Zach Lowerre, a Sumitomo worker.

Lowerre is one of many workers now looking for work after the plant’s abrupt closure. Workers are upset about how they found out they’re losing their jobs.

“I found out from our work buddies and then, you go online and I see the news reports — to hear from that before the company, I find it very disrespectful,” Lowerre said.

In a new update, the company said the plant closure is primarily due to overall facility performance and that the plant has been losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I would like to think that the governor, maybe U.S. Senators, are reaching out to them to try to say, they’re a Japanese company, say is there something we can offer?” said State Republican Senator Rob Ortt. “Obviously we have an obligation to these families and to these individuals — the workers.”

Sumitomo said it followed all state and federal laws in terms of alerting workers. The company also said employees will receive severance based on negotiations between the company and the union, which should get underway soon.

There will be increased security on site as the facility winds down.

Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference Tuesday that she’s thinking about the future use of the property that the plant is on, which is along the Niagara River.

“It has close power sources from the Niagara Power Authority, Niagara Falls power plants, as well as plenty of clean water,” she said. “I think that that property can be used for incredible purposes as we continue our innovation economy and our advanced manufacturing.”

Hochul also expressed concern for the workers, saying the state will help them get jobs, and called the closure a “sad day for Western New York.”

The New York State Department of Labor is hosting a job fair for those impacted by the closure from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the Williamsville Career Center on 4175 Transit Road.

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