Jay Withey, the man who saved more than two dozen people during the deadly Christmas blizzard in Buffalo two years ago, was one of the 1,500 people laid off by Sumitomo Rubber in the Town of Tonawanda.
“Last week they gave us a week off with pay,” said Withey. “Then no notice that any of this was coming…We had no idea.”
Sumitomo said the closure comes after an extended examination of the facility’s viability. The evaluation found mounting material and logistics costs, dated infrastructure, intermittent financial performance and changing market conditions. You can watch our previous report below and read more here .
‘No clue that this was coming’: Sumitomo Rubber closing Tonawanda facility, 1,550 workers impacted
WKBWWithey is also known as “Merry Christmas Jay” for when he became stuck in the deadly 2022 storm himself. He broke into a Buffalo school and physically pulled people inside from their stranded cars. After weathering out the storm for more than 24 hours, he left the school staff a note, and signed it “Merry Christmas Jay.”