Goodyear Plans Cost Reduction Actions in Non-Tire Businesses

AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 10 -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced that its Engineered Products and Chemical businesses are implementing rationalization programs to reduce costs in their operations. The company will record rationalization charges in the third quarter of 2004 in connection with these actions.

The company will record a charge of between $23.5 million and $27.5 million for programs in its Engineered Products business. It plans to reduce about 240 positions through these actions by the end of the third quarter of 2005. The company expects to make future cash expenditures of between $4.5 million and $6.5 million in connection with this action. Additionally, Goodyear plans to reverse between $4 million and $8 million of reserves related to previous Engineered Products programs.

Goodyear expects to record a charge of between $5.5 million and $6 million and reduce about 100 positions in the Chemical business by the end of this year. The company expects to make future cash expenditures of between $2 million and $2.5 million in connection with this action.

Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear manufactures tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 80 facilities in 28 countries. It has marketing operations in almost every country around the world. Goodyear employs about 85,000 people worldwide.

Certain information contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the company's ability to successfully implement the Chemical and Engineered Products rationalization actions as well as the factors discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2004. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.