Clashes at Goodyear protest of factory closure

RUEIL-MALMAISON, France (AP) — Burning the very fruit of their labor, workers from Goodyear clashed with police outside the tire-maker’s French headquarters Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to save their jobs.

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 China, where tires can be made more cheaply and which is closer to booming markets. Goodyear says the type of tires made at the French plant is for Europe and are no longer selling.

Workers�...