GOODYEAR Tire & Rubber Co said yesterday it would close 12 percent, or 92, of its company-owned American stores and cut 600 full and part-time jobs as the United States economic downturn put more pressure on the company.

'In the current economic condition, people are driving less and it obviously affects every facet of the US auto industry, including how often they replace tires or buy new cars,' Goodyear spokesman Keith Price said.

'The current economic condition further impacted the stores, but they were not performing well before this year. And we don't expect them to perform well,' Price said. Goodyear owns 742 stores in the US.

Goodyear, the largest tire maker in the US by sales, said it would take after-tax charges of about US$30 million in connection with the closings, half of which would be recorded in the third quarter.

The company said the closings would enable it to eliminate US$9 million in annual losses.

In July, Goodyear said it was confident it would be able to navigate the near-term economic challenges, especially in North America. At that time, the company said second-quarter net income rose to US$75 million, or 31 cents a share, from US$56 million, 26 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 6.5 percent to US$5.24 billion.

Goodyear attributed the better-than-expected results to a strengthening in international markets, which overcame pressure from the downturn in the North American auto market. Sales rose 18 percent overall in its three international business units, and operating income rose 19 percent.

In North American Tire, Goodyear's largest unit, second-quarter operating earnings fell by more than half to US$24 million.