S&P affirms Goodyear

Standard & Poor's said it affirmed its B+ corporate credit and other ratings on Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and removed them from CreditWatch where they were placed with negative implications on Oct. 16 as a result of the labor dispute at several of the company's North American plants.

The affirmation follows the announcement that Goodyear and the United Steel Workers Union, representing about 12,600 employees at 12 plants in the United States and Canada, have reached an agreement on a new contract and union members have ratified the agreement, the agency said.

The outlook is stable.

According to S&P, the ratings on Goodyear reflect its aggressive financial risk profile, characterized by low earnings in North America, a leveraged capital structure and significant underfunded employee benefit liabilities.

The agency noted that these factors more than offset the company's business strengths, including its position as one of the three largest global tire manufacturers, its good geographic diversity, its strong distribution and its well-recognized brand name.

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