Bridgestone explained it increasingly needs to optimize and manage costs, and therefore decided to close the LaVergne TBR Tire Plant. The closure will impact approximately 700 hourly and staff employees. The LaVergne Tire Plant in Tennessee began manufacturing TBR tires in 1972.

Bridgestone Americas announced Thursday it will close its La Vergne plant, resulting in approximately 700 workers losing their jobs.

Nashville-based Bridgestone Americas will shut down its longtime tire plant in La Vergne in July. That decision alone erases 700 hourly and salaried roles, in addition to other "workforce reductions in the company’s U.