Plant closure deflating to region’s economy

The Sumitomo plant in Tonawanda is shown in this picture from the company’s website announcing the closing.

Western New York is still reeling from the shock and sting of an announcement that rocked a workforce and community. Earlier this month, with little warning, Sumitomo Rubber announced it was closing its tire manufacturing facility in Tonawanda.

Around 1,550 hourly and salaried employees were impacted by the decision that came on Nov. 7. “Sumitomo Rubber USA remains committed to supporting its former employees through this challenging time, and remains grateful for all associates’ hard work, dedication, and contributions to the company and facility over its many years in business,” the company stated in a press release.

While there is no kind or polite way to shutter a large plant that helps drive a region’s economy, Sumitomo failed to back up its words by blindsiding its dedicated employees. Additionally, as is usually the case, government officials and agencies received no indication this type of action would be occurring.

Only three years earlier, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency backed a $1.8 million combined sales and property tax incentive in 2021 as part of Sumitomo’s then $129 million investment in the facility. Those improvements followed a 2017 $1.2 million sale and property tax incentive package in concert with Sumitomo’s $9.7 million investment at that time.

It’s a bitter pill for Erie County, which has attempted in recent years to tout a revival of Buffalo that includes a high-profile medical corridor and its growing technology hub. No one can deny the progress that is being made, but Western New York remains a blue-collar region that relies on manufacturing. That’s why the shuttering of Sumitomo, which highly compensated its workforce, hurts so much.

“While the company did implement cost-control measures, efficiency enhancements, capital investments, and other improvements over the last several years, these changes have not offset mounting financial losses at the facility,” the company, which The Buffalo News reported lost $790 million over the last 10 years, said in its statement.

Not long after the closing was announced, it became a political football. U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler from Rockland County blamed state policies and Gov. Kathy Hochul for the exit by the business. “Yet another business is leaving New York state, taking 1,500 good-paying jobs with it. We’re bleeding manufacturing jobs upstate, having lost hundreds of thousands of them over the last few decades,” he wrote. “The only way we can change things for the better in our state is by changing governors. We must make that happen in 2026.”

There’s no question New York has policy issues, but Lawler needs an education when it comes to the destructive historic path that has choked the upstate economy. Powerhouse cities of the past that included Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse are clinging to oversized governments despite population losses between 14% and 25% over the last 45 years.

They symbolize what’s gone wrong with most of New York north of New York City. As residents moved elsewhere, shrinking communities could not bear to lose municipal or school identities.

Albany has obliged because it is listening to its constituents. No matter the cry that the Empire State is overtaxing its residents, those who are voting are firmly behind continued property tax increases that have driven many away.

School budget votes that often increase spending and burdens on property owners almost always pass. This May, 97% of those plans were approved statewide. Capital projects to build on shrinking enrollments at those districts also rarely fail.

Those decisions are not from Albany — those are edicts by the local citizenry.

Locally, Fredonia Central and Silver Creek Central schools have project votes that total $51 million and $36 million respectively. Residents in those districts — not Albany — will be deciding on those proposals in December.

What’s so frustrating about Sumitomo is that its headquarters are based in Japan. Like so much of the manufacturing base here, there is little local control due to out-of-town ownership.

That’s not the case with governments and schools. That’s all run with local control — and why the region has failed to downsize.

As for Lawler, the downstate Republican may be ready to take on Hochul in the 2026 run for governor. It has been 16 years since that party has held the state’s top post.

Hochul and Erie County were powerless when it came to the plant closing in Tonawanda. Instead of assigning blame, maybe Lawler could pinpoint some better ways to change the state business climate.

But sometimes it’s just easier to pass the buck.

John D’Agostino is editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.