Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - Leaders with United Steelworkers Local 135L and Sumitomo Rubber USA have reached an agreement on a separation benefits package for the 1,550 employees that lost their jobs last month when the plant in Tonawanda suddenly closed.
The benefits package for former Sumitomo employees includes:
- Two-and-a-half weeks pay for each year of service, with a minimum of eight weeks’ pay and a maximum of 48 weeks’ pay;
- Workers will receive their 2025 vacation days and sick leave payout;
- 12 months of health insurance, vision and dental benefits paid by the company;
- 27 months of life insurance paid by the company;
- Workers being entitled to and being fully protected with all of their pension of 401(k) benefits;
- Access to career transition services and job fair participation.
The plant closed back on Nov. 7 after the company said mounting material and logistics costs, dated infrastructure, intermittent financial performance, and changing market conditions led to facility's immediate shutdown. Sumitomo also said that cost-control measures, capital investments, and other improvements have not offset mounting financial losses at the facility.
The New York State Labor Department assisted employees of Sumitomo Rubber this past Tuesday with a job fair hosted in Tonawanda at the Lincoln Park Athletic Center.
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