A century is a long time to accumulate bad habits. Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT.O) on Wednesday said it would try to shed some, by selling $2 billion of assets, streamlining its business and paying down debt. Corporate cage-rattler Elliott Investment Management, which won seats on the board in July, blessed the moves, which echo shifts rocking other aged industrial icons.
Goodyear’s interests stretch from tire manufacturing to running more than 1,000 retail locations. It’s now slimming down the sprawl, splitting off a chemicals business, among others. Fellow industrial centenarians also are cleaning up messes. General Electric (GE.N) and 3M (MMM.N) are among the others splintering themselves.
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