Bad Year For Goodyear

CLEVELAND (AP) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the biggest U.S.
tire maker, plans to cut 5,000 jobs this year after posting a
fourth-quarter loss of $330 million and a 21 percent decline in
sales.
The cuts equal almost 7 percent of the Akron, Ohio-based
company's work force and follow about 4,000 jobs it eliminated in
the second half of last year.
Goodyear's loss amounted to $1.37 per share, or $1.18 per share
excluding one-time charges or gains. Wall Street anticipated a loss
of $1.03 cents per share on that basis, according the a Thomson
Reuters analysts survey.
Sales dipped to $4.1 billion from $5.2 billion a year earlier.
The economy pushed down the number of tires sold by 19 percent
in the quarter, the company said Wednesday.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)