July 21, 2009 (FinancialWire) — The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) said it will close its tire plant in the Philippines. The action, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter, will result in a reduction of around 500 of the company’s 600 associates in the Philippines.

The closure of the plant in Las Pinas will result in the reduction of nearly two million units of annual production capacity, which is part of Goodyear’s strategy to remove 15 million to 25 million units of capacity over the next two years.

Goodyear said that its sales and marketing operations in the country are not affected. Production will be transferred to lower-cost plants in the company’s Asia-Pacific Region.

Pierre E. Cohade, president of Goodyear’s Asia-Pacific Region, said the move was due in part to “high costs compared to other plants in the region” what makes tires produced in the Las Pinas plant uncompetitive in the marketplace.

Goodyear, which has had a presence in the Philippines since 1919, opened the Las Pinas plant in 1956.

The company plans to record around $20 million in charges associated with the closure in the third quarter of 2009, principally for non-cash asset write offs.

Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear is employs around 71,000 people and manufactures its products in more than 60 facilities in 25 countries around the world.

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