Goodyear shares drop 4.2% after boycott urge by Trump

Shares in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co dropped 4.2 percent following US President Donald Trump's Twitter post calling for its boycott in response to a company policy that made political attire unacceptable for the workplace.

According to Goodyear, it has zero-tolerance for any form of harassment or discrimination as a matter of corporate policy, which it enforces by asking employees to refrain from workplace expressions supporting political campaigns.

Goodyear, the largest tire company in North America, posted nearly $15 billion in revenue in 2019, the bulk coming from sales of tires. In 2018, Goodyear tires were fitted on 24 percent of new vehicles in the US.

The White House did not clarify whether Trump was also calling for a boycott of new vehicles with Goodyear tires.

US Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown called Trump's call for a boycott "absolutely despicable" as the company employs thousands of American workers.

Trump, trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in opinion polls, is gearing up to accept the Republican Party's presidential nomination next week.

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway said she did not view Trump's boycott call as a political mistake, adding that the President had done far more for companies in Ohio and elsewhere than Joe Biden ever did.