Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. announced Thursday that it will lay off 114 of 159 employees at its Clarksdale plant. The layoffs will occur Nov. 12. The layoffs, according to Cooper Tire spokeswoman Patricia J. Brown, are necessary because of a steady decline in the demand for inner tubes. Cooper Tire owns 30 plants, but the Clarksdale location is the only one that still makes inner tubes. Brown said the plant will discontinue inner-tube production when the layoffs occur but will remain open to produce bladders and continue mixing operations for internal consumption by other Cooper facilities. The bladders are...