Snap On Tools Corp

A group of Southern California tool dealers filed suit Tuesday against their supplier, Snap-On Tools Corp., alleging that the company exaggerated potential profits to would-be dealers and harassed existing dealers. The dealers claimed at a Claremont news conference that the Kenosha, Wis.-based producer of socket wrenches and other automotive tools creates uneconomically small sales territories for new dealers while seeking to break up the territories of existing dealers.

Toolmaker Snap-on Inc. said a federal arbitrator ordered it to pay $44 million to industrial products and services company SPX Corp. in a case that involved alleged patent infringement and the hiring of an executive. Kenosha, Wis.-based Snap-on said it will take a charge of $27.9million, or 48 cents a share, in the fourth quarter for the after-tax cost of the ruling. The ruling relates to a complaint Snap-on filed in April 1996 against Muskegon, Mich.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said it would break even or report a small loss for the third quarter, well below Wall Street forecasts, due to high raw material costs, a strong dollar and weak pricing. Analysts were expecting the company to post a profit of 29 cents a share. Goodyear's announcement, the latest in a series of profit and sales warnings made by auto suppliers, pushed the company's shares down $2.88, or 14%, to close at $18.13 on the NYSE.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said it would break even or report a small loss for the third quarter, well below Wall Street forecasts, due to high raw material costs, a strong dollar and weak pricing. Analysts were expecting the company to post a profit of 29 cents a share. Goodyear's announcement, the latest in a series of profit and sales warnings made by auto suppliers, pushed the company's shares down $2.88, or 14%, to close at $18.13 on the NYSE.

Toolmaker Snap-on Inc. said a federal arbitrator ordered it to pay $44 million to industrial products and services company SPX Corp. in a case that involved alleged patent infringement and the hiring of an executive. Kenosha, Wis.-based Snap-on said it will take a charge of $27.9million, or 48 cents a share, in the fourth quarter for the after-tax cost of the ruling. The ruling relates to a complaint Snap-on filed in April 1996 against Muskegon, Mich.

Snap-On Inc., a leading toolmaker for mechanics, said it will fire 1,000 employees, or 8.3% of its work force, close five plants and take a $175-million third-quarter charge to improve efficiency after making 17 acquisitions in six years. It also said its second-quarter earnings will be 40% lower than the year-earlier 63 cents a diluted share on lower demand in Asia and lower productivity as employees learn a new computer system.

Chrysler Corp. announced plans Wednesday to close the nation's oldest auto factory, a converted 19th-Century bicycle plant in Kenosha, Wis., that has managed to survive the ups and downs of the American automobile business since 1902. About 5,500 jobs will be eliminated in Kenosha, a city of 78,000 that has enjoyed a modest economic revival in recent years and had welcomed the decision last year by Chrysler to acquire stumbling American Motors Corp., owner of the Kenosha facility.

Snap-On Inc., a leading toolmaker for mechanics, said it will fire 1,000 employees, or 8.3% of its work force, close five plants and take a $175-million third-quarter charge to improve efficiency after making 17 acquisitions in six years. It also said its second-quarter earnings will be 40% lower than the year-earlier 63 cents a diluted share on lower demand in Asia and lower productivity as employees learn a new computer system.

A group of Southern California tool dealers filed suit Tuesday against their supplier, Snap-On Tools Corp., alleging that the company exaggerated potential profits to would-be dealers and harassed existing dealers. The dealers claimed at a Claremont news conference that the Kenosha, Wis.-based producer of socket wrenches and other automotive tools creates uneconomically small sales territories for new dealers while seeking to break up the territories of existing dealers.