TONAWANDA CITY, N.Y. (WKBW) – Jay Withey, the man who saved more than two dozen people during the deadly Christmas blizzard in Buffalo two years ago, was one of 1,500 people laid off by Sumitomo Rubber in the city of Tonawanda.

“Last week they gave us a week off with pay,” Withey said. “So we didn’t realize any of this was going to happen… We had no idea.”

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Withey is also known as “Merry Christmas Jay” from when he himself was caught in the deadly storm of 2022. He broke into a Buffalo school and physically pulled people out of their stranded cars. After weathering the storm for more than 24 hours, he left a note for school staff and signed it “Merry Christmas, Jay.”

Withey told me last year that the people he saved became members of his family to him. This is how he also described his now former Sumitomo co-workers.

“Pretty close,” Withey said. “It’s like a big family, but everyone is pretty disappointed.”

Withey worked with his cousin, Matthew Mondo, and this “tight-knit” group to convert raw materials into rubber.

“It’s like a landlord kicks you out for no reason,” Mondo said.

You’re not sure where you’ll work next and now you’re worried.

“If this was a Buffalo-owned company, this would never have happened,” Withey explained.

As someone who risked his life for the people of Buffalo, he knows how the City of Good Neighbors can help during this difficult time.

“When you go through something, you don’t just go through it in Buffalo,” Withey said. “If I get anywhere and can help anyone get a job, or use my connections to help anyone who works here, I absolutely will.”

Withey was one of dozens of employees who gathered Monday to express their anger and outrage over the abrupt closure and staged a rally-like meeting in front of the facility on Sheridan Drive.