The U.S. economy downfall has propelled Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co to announce the closure of 12 percent, or 92%, of its company-owned U.S. stores and disposal of 600 full- and part-time jobs.

“In the current economic condition, people are driving less and it obviously affects every facet of the U.S. auto industry, including how often they replace tires or buy new cars,” Goodyear spokesman Keith Price said on Tuesday after the announcement.

“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 United States.

The company disclosed that the closings would enable it to purge $9 million in annual losses.

Earlier this month, Goodyear announced a plan to increase commercial tire prices by 10% to counterbalance rising commodity prices.

Goodyear’s second-quarter net income rose 34% as international sales compensated a fall in North American sales.

Goodyear’s shares fell 0.3% to $20.12 in after-hours trading.