Titan Tire officials on Monday refused to confirm that managers at Titan’s Natchez plant met with workers that day to announce plans to scale back the plant’s operations.

That is despite reports that the plant’s employees were told in meetings Monday that the plant would soon be used not for making tires, but for mixing rubber for use in the company’s Brownsville, Texas, and Des Moines, Iowa, plants, and for warehouse space.

Recent layoffs have had employees, their families and local officials wondering about the plant’s future. At least 20 of the plant’s workers were fired Wednesday, and at least 30 more were laid off Friday.

That was despite Titan CEO Morry Taylor’s comment on Thursday that the company wasn’t planing any more layoffs.

But Plant Manager Dave Fines would not comment on layoffs or the plant’s future last week or Monday. He referred questions to Taylor – who, on Monday, claimed no knowledge of Friday’s layoffs or subsequent meetings.

&uot;I have no idea, … and I&160;can’t (comment) on rumor mills,&uot;&160;Taylor said. He also refused to call the Natchez plant to find out about the latest developments, saying that &uot;I’m not going to bother them right now. That would be like the general bothering the captains.&uot;

Taylor said he hoped to find out more about developments in Natchez when he visits Titan’s Des Moines plant today. He added that he plans to visit the company’s Brownsville facility next week. Taylor visited the Natchez plant early last week.

Prior to last week’s layoffs, the plant had 330 employees, according to Taylor. He also said Thursday the plant would not move from Natchez and is not planning to move any equipment or fire additional workers.

But he did say Titan officials are evaluating &uot;the direction the company’s going&uot; given an impending recession. He also said that if the company did decide to cut jobs, it would do so in Natchez.

The reason Natchez would be targeted is that it is producing fewer tires than Titan’s other plants – about 80 pounds per manhour at last count, Taylor said.

Taylor said Thursday that one option being considered by Titan is to run the Natchez plant’s rubber mixing machines around the clock, producing a small amount of rubber for the Brownsville plant and selling the rest on the open market.

He added that if the company decided to produce only tire rubber at the Natchez plant – and not the tires themselves – the plant’s tire-making equipment would probably be shipped to Titan’s Brownsville or Des Moines facilities.

United Steelworkers of America Local 303L, which has been on strike from Titan’s Natchez plant since September 1998, is watching development at the factory very closely.

Taylor &uot;can’t run that plant without experienced workers. We’ve been ready to negotiate a contract with him, but he doesn’t want to talk to us,&uot; said Leo &uot;T-Bone&uot; Bradley, Local 303L&160;president.

&uot;We’re preparing for everything that could happen. There’s no telling what Morry Taylor could do.&uot;