Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plans to achieve $700 million in savings by the end of 2009 thanks to its "Four-Point Cost Savings Plan," Goodyear Chairman, CEO and President Bob Keegan told investors earlier today.
Some $200 million in savings were generated during the second quarter of the year, he said.
Moving forward, the Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker will continue to "drive costs down." Cost-saving measures will include further job cuts. Approximately 5,500 jobs have been eliminated at Goodyear through June 2009, Keegan noted.
Earlier today, July 30, Goodyear posted a net loss of $253 million on net sales of $3.9 billion for the second quarter. That compares to net income of $93 million on sales of $5.2 billion for the same period a year ago.
The company attributed the 25% decrease in sales to a 17% decline in tire unit volume ("due to significantly lower global industry demand"), the impact of currency translation, and a reduction in sales in other tire-related businesses (primarily third-party chemical sales by the North American Tire business unit).
