Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s second quarter net income was $7.8 million, a $69.3 million drop from its second quarter net income last year.
"The ongoing slowdowns in the auto and commercial truck industries around the globe have led to a significant reduction in orders," says Goodyear Chairman and CEO Sam Gibara.
"Additionally, sluggish economies and significant currency devaluations in Europe, Asia, Turkey and Brazil had a negative impact on both sales and earnings during the quarter."
Goodyear's global second quarter sales were $3.6 billion, "virtually unchanged from the 2000 quarter," according to company officials.
Gibara promises "more production curtailments" in the third quarter in response to lowered demand. And the Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker is proceeding with its employee reduction program; nearly 5,800 jobs were slashed during the first half of 2001 and another 2,000 are expected to be cut by the end of the year.
