French workers trying to save their tire-making jobs have sued Goodyear in the company’s hometown of Akron.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday afternoon in Summit County Common Pleas Court against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on behalf of workers at the factory in Amiens, France.
Attorney Robert Gary, who worked on the filing, said the labor dispute was taken to court in Ohio because corporate decisions affecting French workers were made in Akron.
A Goodyear spokesman said the tire company could not comment because no one there had read the lawsuit.
Goodyear has been trying to restructure or close its plant in northern France for five years in the face of a shrinking European car market.
The workers say Goodyear wants to shift the work to lower-cost China. The tires made at the plant were for sale in Europe.
A Goodyear spokesman said the tire company was not moving production from France to China.