Chrysler agrees to sell Chinese made cars in US

Wonder if they'll come with a free egg roll?...

Wednesday 28th February, 2007, German carmaker DaimlerChrysler has struck an agreement with China's Chery Motor to sell the Chinese built cars in the United States as a cheap way to enter the growing entry level market, the Los Angeles Times has reported Wednesday.

Company executives said Tuesday that they expected the Chinese government to approve of the agreement by the end of March, according to the report. The pact calls for Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler's US arm, to work with the Chinese company to design and engineer subcompact cars, which would be built in China and exported to North America and Europe under Chrysler brand names.

The subcompacts would be the first Chinese vehicles sold in the US and probably open the door for other Chinese automakers, said the newspaper. DaimlerChrysler said its plan to sell or spin off its ailing US arm, which it acquired in 1998, would not upset its agreement with Chery. Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda earlier had said that cars from Chery could start arriving in 2009.

http://www.beijingnews.net/story/231233

[waltky]

Union not happy...

Chrysler-UAW deal in doubt
Mon Oct 22, 2007 - Ratification of the tentative labor contract between the United Auto Workers union and Chrysler LLC was thrown into jeopardy on Monday after workers at four of the eight assembly plants that must vote on the deal rejected it.

In total, six UAW-represented facilities representing about 11,150 workers have voted against the contract while nine others, representing 8,294 workers, have approved the proposed four-year contract, according to a tally provide to Reuters by a person opposed to the deal. The deep-seated opposition to the Chrysler deal marks a setback for leadership of the UAW, which reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler on October 10 after a six-hour strike.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, who is waiting to negotiate a contract with Ford Motor Co (F.N), may have to go back to the bargaining table with Chrysler if the deal is rejected. Voting is expected to conclude this week. Union dissidents, including some UAW local leaders, argue that the contract should be rejected because it would allow Chrysler to hire workers at half of current wages without guaranteeing new investment in U.S. factories.

UAW dissidents also object to a plan to create a trust fund to pay for health care for Chrysler retirees, saying it would be underfunded compared with Chrysler's estimated $19 billion obligation for those costs. A majority of Chrysler's almost 49,000 UAW-represented factory workers must ratify the four-year contract for it to take effect.

MORE

[waltky]

Union and company comes together...

Chrysler workers approve contentious labor pact
Sat Oct 27, 2007 - Workers represented by the United Auto Workers ratified a four-year contract with automaker Chrysler LLC, the union said on Saturday, capping a close-fought battle that had threatened to scuttle the labor pact.

Hourly production workers at Chrysler voted 56 percent in favor of the new contract, which would allow the automaker to hire new workers at half the wage rate of current workers for a wide range of jobs in its factories. The UAW represents some 45,000 Chrysler workers. The focus for union leadership now shifts to negotiations with Ford Motor Co. (F.N), which is seeking deep concessions as it attempts to bounce back from a record $12.6 billion loss last year.

Among its cost-saving provisions, the Chrysler contract will establish a trust fund to take over the company's roughly $19 billion obligation for health care for more than 55,000 Chrysler retirees and 23,000 surviving spouses. Union leadership had defended the deal as the best that could be won from the privately held automaker at a time when the American auto industry is looking to close factories and cut payrolls in response to a declining share of sales.

But the contract had faced opposition from rank-and-file workers and some union leaders over the past two weeks. "Our members had to face some tough choices, and we had a solid, democratic debate about this contract," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said. "Now we're going to come together as a union -- and now it's on the company to move ahead, increase their market share and continue to build great cars and trucks here in the United States."

More Chrysler workers approve contentious labor pact - Yahoo! News

[waltky]

Like Gomer used to say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"

Chrysler restructures, thousands of jobs cut
October 31 2007: The now-private auto maker hopes to cut costs by eliminating temporary and salaried workers.

Chrysler LLC began laying off thousands of salaried workers Wednesday as part of an effort to slash costs in the company's new era of private ownership, a spokesman said. The cuts won't end there. On Thursday, Chrysler planned to announce the elimination of third shifts at the Toledo North plant in Ohio and the Belvidere plant in Illinois in the first quarter of 2008, according to two congressional aides with knowledge of the announcement. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The decisions will eliminate 750 jobs in the Toledo plant, which makes the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro, and 1,000 jobs at the Belvidere plant, where Chrysler assembles the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot.

Chrysler spokesman Mike Aberlich said about one-third of the company's temporary workers will be laid off in the next few months, along with other salaried workers. Aberlich didn't disclose the number of workers that will be affected, but a person briefed on the plan said 1,000 salaried workers and 1,100 temporary workers -- who work in engineering, finance, procurement and other areas -- will be laid off.

The layoffs of temporary workers began Wednesday and will be completed by December. Salaried workers will be eligible for early retirement and separation packages beginning next month, said the person, who requested anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced.

MORE

[waltky]

Will 2008 be the make or break year for Chrysler?...

The Chrysler rumor mill
January 4 2008: The whispering about Detroit's only private automaker is getting louder, and almost none of it is positive.

It was only five months ago that Cerberus Capital Management bought 80% of Chrysler from Germany's Daimler but already the vultures are circling. Stock market pundit Jim Cramer has become the latest to forecast disaster for the struggling automaker. In the January 7 issue of New York magazine, Cramer riffed on Chrysler's weakened condition and the skills of its CEO, Bob Nardelli of Home Depot, declaring: "Call the Chrysler failure [in 2008] a lock."

Of course, Cramer makes pronouncements with the same frequency - and credibility - as politicians who promise higher services and lower taxes. But he was only the latest to forecast impending disaster for private equity's first foray into the auto business. The clamor grew so loud before Christmas that Cerberus, which usually maintains a stony public silence, felt compelled to put out a statement declaring that its board of directors was "highly complimentary" about Chrysler's progress and that the automaker is "not only meeting, but, in many cases, exceeding its financial targets."

Cerberus' statement did nothing to dampen the Detroit rumor mill, where the activities of private-equity guys from New York are the subject of intense speculation. Take fleet sales. So weak is Chrysler's current product lineup - and so out of sync with the market - that competitors figure that an unusually large chunk of its car and truck production is being dumped into fleets. Others are even pondering the possibility of a merger between Chrysler and Detroit's other weak sister - Ford (F, Fortune 500). One scenario has it that Ford would keep Chrysler's Jeep brand and its Dodge and Chrysler minivans - and discard everything else.

MORE

[waltky]

Maybe sales will pick up on the cars made in the new India plant...

Ford to cut production as sales slump
Mon Mar 3, `08 - Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday said U.S. sales in February for all of its brands had dropped almost 7 percent and said it would cut second-quarter production by 10 percent.

Led by lower sales of its market-leading F-Series pickup trucks and declines for SUVs like the Explorer and Expedition, Ford's sales for its main Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands were off 6.6 percent from a year earlier.

Including sales of its Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo brands, sales were off 6.9 percent.

Ford reports sales comparisons without adjusting for the number of selling days in a given month. Last month had one additional sales day than February a year earlier.

Ford to cut production as sales slump - Yahoo! News

[waltky]

Chrysler gets their bailout - again...

Chrysler gets $4bn emergency loan
Saturday, 3 January 2009 - US car manufacturer Chrysler receives a $4bn (£2.75bn) emergency government loan to help stave off collapse.

It is part of a $13.4bn rescue package approved last month by Washington for Chrysler and its rival General Motors. Both companies said they needed the money to pay suppliers at a time of plunging sales and credit concerns. They were promised bail-out funds on condition that they restructure and prove their viability by 31 March.

"This initial loan will allow the company to continue an orderly restructuring," Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said in a statement. GM, America's largest car manufacturer, received its first $4bn loan earlier this week and is to receive an additional $5.4bn later this month.

The US Treasury has also provided a rescue package for GMAC - General Motors' troubled car loan arm, which is co-owned by Chrysler's owner, Cerberus Capital Management. Correspondents say that when the major US carmakers release results next week, they are expected to show that sales for December fell to the lowest full-year level since 1992.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Chrysler gets $4bn emergency loan