FAYETTEVILLE — A union leader said the Goodyear plant in Fayetteville will not face layoffs after nearly 200 workers accept buyout packages.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said last year it needed to eliminate about 200 jobs at the plant by late November.

The reductions constitute about 7 percent of the plant's workforce.

Darryl Jackson is president of Local 959 of the United Steelworkers of America and said the reductions are being made in several phases. Jackson said about 135 of the employees taking the buyout have been processed out of the plant.

The plant had more than 2,700 workers before the latest reductions.

The cuts are the largest since 2001, when the plant eliminated about 475 positions.

Jackson said he doesn't expect any further cuts.