Mar. 17--Toledo auto supplier Dana Holding Corp. reported widening losses for the final quarter of 2008 Monday and announced that it has begun to slash an additional 5,800 people from its global payroll.

The company -- which hasn't reported a profit since emerging from bankruptcy protection on Jan. 31, 2008 -- said it lost $691 million in the 12 months since it emerged from bankruptcy.

But for calendar 2008, it logged a profit of $18 million after booking a $709 million gain from its bankruptcy emergence.

The city's largest corporation said it lost $256 million, or $2.64 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with a $257 million loss, or $1.52 a share, for the same period a year ago.

"At the end of the day, I felt very good about what we achieved in [2008]," John Devine, chairman and chief executive officer, told analysts on a conference call.

The company's "right-sizing" efforts to reduce its head count to adequately meet current depressed demand "will be largely done by the end of this month," he said.

Company spokesman Chuck Hartlage said Dana, after the newest job cuts, will have about 23,000 employees by the end of this year, down from 34,000 at the end of 2007.

He said he could not say how many of Dana's 1,000 local em-ployees might lose their jobs, but noted that the bulk of job cuts are to be from manufacturing operations.

The firm's earnings announcement had been delayed by almost three weeks. It blamed rapidly changing economic conditions.

Sales for the fourth quarter were $1.5 billion, down $636 million, or 29 percent, from the prior year, the company said.

Sales for all of 2008 were $8.1 billion, down $626 million from $8.7 billion in 2007. The company said nearly all of its loss in sales occurred in the fourth quarter with the collapse in the worldwide automotive industry and the global credit crisis.

Before it emerged from bankruptcy, Dana estimated its revenues in 2008 would be $8.6 million to $8.8 million -- down significantly from the $13.2 billion in sales -- with 85,000 employees -- in 1999.

The same forecast predicted a profit of $81 million last year.

The downsizing axle and thermal products manufacturer, which plans to move from its Toledo headquarters to a facility it owns in Maumee this year, said it had $777 million in cash remaining and total liquidity of $866 million. Its total debt was $1.25 billion.