AKRON (Aug. 28, 2003)—Calling it a difficult but “absolutely necessary” decision to achieve cost reduction objectives, Goodyear announced Aug. 28 that it will eliminate approximately 500 salaried and non-bargaining unit positions by the end of September at its North American Tire (NAT) unit manufacturing locations.
The cuts—at 20 plants in the U.S. and Canada—will vary by location and will affect management and staff positions.
A Goodyear spokeswoman said the reductions are expected to produce $40 million in savings on an annualized basis beginning in 2004. Each location is developing its own restructuring plan, which, once finalized within the next few weeks, will be communicated to employees, Goodyear said.
John Rich, NAT president, said “when we announced our turnaround plan at the end of last year, we said that difficult decisions would be required. This is one of those very difficult actions, but it is absolutely necessary to achieve our cost reduction objectives.”
Earlier this year, the tire maker eliminated about 700 salaried positions, most of which were at its Akron headquarters.