Is Goodyear headed for European restructuring?

Recent reports published by financial analysts suggest Goodyear could be forced to restructure its business in the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Reporting on an investor’s presentation given in Detroit, Deutsche Bank market watchers relayed that Goodyear cautioned that financial targets established two years ago – specifically US$1.6 billion segment operating income by 2013 – would be “difficult to achieve if current European market trends persist”.

According to the report, published 16 January EMEA volumes remain weak, and pricing has been “somewhat more difficult than expected.” The company’s other regions (North America, Asia, and Latin America) are all said to be performing at or above their targets.

Therefore it is the overall analysis that is most eye-catching. “Ultimately, much of the company’s ($400 million) unabsorbed overhead is in the European region,” Deutsche Bank representatives wrote, adding: “…restructuring is needed in order to restore competitiveness there.” The word is that we can expect to hear more about this during the course of 2013.