Cumberland Officials OK Goodyear Incentives

Fayetteville, N.C. — The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a package of incentives that could provide Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. with $40 million a year to maintain its Fayetteville plant.

The package is part of program focused on tire makers that state lawmakers fashioned last fall to reach a compromise with Gov. Mike Easley over a threatened veto.

State lawmakers approved a bill that would provide cash grants to heavy manufacturers that employ hundreds of workers, provided the companies invest to upgrade the plants and resist laying off workers.