Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz today signed an executive order calling for the creation of the Sumitomo Rubber Plant Closure Task Force, bringing together representatives from various entities to work collaboratively to address the immediate, near- and long-term consequences of the facility’s closure.
Poloncarz and other Erie County officials have been in constant communication with various partners, including leadership from United Steelworkers, to provide guidance and assistance to the impacted workers and their families.
“Erie County is prepared to take a leadership role with our partners in managing the future of the site, which is why I signed the executive order to create the Task Force to address all issues related to the closure of the facility,” said Poloncarz. “The Task Force includes representatives from my administration, New York State, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, the ECIDA’s Industrial Land Development Corporation, the Town of Tonawanda, Workforce Buffalo, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and several others. This is a strong collaboration of business and governmental partners with a focus on not only getting former Sumitomo employees into new jobs but also securing the best possible future for the site.”
Sumitomo Rubber Industries in Japan voted on Nov. 7th to immediately close operations at the plant in the Town of Tonawanda, resulting in 1,550 employees losing their jobs. Upon learning of the surprise closure, the Poloncarz administration has been working with state, local, business, and labor partners to organize a comprehensive response. The creation of this Task Force is one of the many, collaborative steps.
“My economic development team has had multiple meetings with all stakeholders and went on a site tour on Dec. 4th to better assess the condition and future of the 130-acre site,” said Poloncarz. “Industrial redevelopment has been a cornerstone of my administration, and we want to see this 101-year-old site put back into productive use as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are ongoing conversations and ideas in the works, and more information from Erie County and our partners will be shared in the coming weeks.”
For more information:
To read the executive order, visit executive-order-24.pdf
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