Goodyear to Cut Production, 5000 More Jobs to Combat Losses

As many have predicted, the scope of the problems facing the automotive industry has gone beyond the automakers themselves and those issues are seriously affecting suppliers as well. The latest job casualties related to the automotive industry are now coming from Goodyear, which plans to cut 5000 jobs worldwide in 2009.

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"These are truly extraordinarily times that require extraordinarily actions," Goodyear Chief Executive Robert Keegan told Reuters. "The global economic slowdown has increased both in severity and geographic scope throughout the year. We are aggressively adjusting our plans to the new market realities." The announcement comes as part of Goodyear's effort to cut spending by $700 million, a plan that will include the freezing of salaries and cuts in production. Unfortunately, this isn't the beginning of Goodyear's problems. The company already cut 4000 jobs in the second half of 2008, has closed plants and has cut production by 25 million tires over the past few years...more

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