Goodyear Tyre & Rubber and the United Steelworkers of America union continued marathon talks on Saturday to try to reach agreement on a labour contract for the tyre maker’s US plants, Reuters said.

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The opposing sides talked right past a Friday afternoon deadline, far into the night and reconvened on Saturday after a few hours rest, a company spokesman told Reuters.

“Marathon talks continued through the night, and they are still talking Saturday. This is two continuous days of round-the-clock talks,” Goodyear spokesman Chuck Sinclair told Reuters on Saturday.

The fact the two sides are still at the bargaining table is “an absolute positive,” Sinclair reportedly added.

Reuters noted that Goodyear has said it will reduce costs if no agreement is reached but it has not specified whether such measures would involve cutting jobs or closing any plants.

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Wayne Ranick, spokesman for the United Steelworkers, told the news agency it was hard to say when the last-ditch talks would end and added: “The committees worked through the night. Progress is being made but it is very hard, hard bargaining.”

Reuters noted that Goodyear told investors in April it planned to cut costs by about $1 billion to $1.5 billion by 2005 to reduce capacity and turn the company’s finances around.

The company and the USWA, which represents nearly 19,000 current employees at 14 US plants as well as 22,000 retirees, are at odds on ways to compromise on issues of job security, health care for current and retired employees, and financial restructuring, the news agency added.

Labour contracts expired on April 19 at plants that make Goodyear and Dunlop tyres and ended on July 5 at those that make Kelly-Springfield tyres. The contracts have been extended on a day to day basis while talks on new agreements have been going on and off for five months, Reuters said.