Industry News
Goodyear to cut 1500 jobs in UK and Poland
7th April 2006
Goodyear Tire & Rubber, the largest tyre company in the world, on Wednesday announced it would cut 1,500 jobs and save up to $50m by eliminating unprofitable operations in the UK and Poland. Goodyear expects the cuts to save $40m-$50m, incurring charges of $105m-$115m, about half of which will be reflected in earnings in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year.
The company, which embarked on a restructuring plan in September, said it started talks with unions to shut down its Goodyear Dunlop plant in Washington, UK, which has 585 staff. A smaller operation in Wolverhampton will shed about 40 jobs, with 450 remaining.
Goodyear, which lost $51m in the fourth quarter, said it aimed to reduce costs by about $1bn during the next few years. Like its rivals, the company has faced rising raw materials costs, with rubber prices almost quadrupling in recent years while crude oil trebled. Meanwhile, customers in the car sector have limited the pricing power of suppliers such as Goodyear. The closures announced yesterday come after Goodyear sold its farm tyre division in the fourth quarter.
In addition to the shutdowns in the UK and Poland, the company said it would also cut costs in retail, administration and logistics across the engineered products division and in Europe and Asia- Pacific overall.
Source: FT
News Headlines
