Breaking! Chrysler Group To Cut 13,000 Workers And Return To Profitability By Investing In...Engines?
Now we understand why Dr. Z won't be talking about the Chrysler Group. The main man in the big office in Stuttgart is letting his main man in Auburn Hills, MI give the bold and bad news and put his ass on the line. Like when he's giving the news today that instead of 11,000 job cuts, the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid's trying to beat expectations on the street and cut 13,000 jobs, which amounts to approximately a 16% cut. hourly employment will be reduced by 11,000 over three years, with 9,000 in the US and 2,000 in Canada. On the salaried side, Chrysler will be reducing employment by 2,000 over the next two years, with 1,000 each in 2007 and 2008. Nothing like the tease before the real release, eh? That's the big news on the jobs numbers, but what about where they'll be coming from? Well, since...
...they're looking at reducing total production capacity by 400,000 units per year, this year they'll be eliminating a shift at the Newark (Delaware) Assembly Plant and the Warren (Michigan) Truck Plant. In 2008, they'll eliminate a shift at the St. Louis (Missouri) South Assembly Plant. In 2009, they'll idle the Newark Assembly Plant and they'll idle the Cleveland (Ohio) Parts Distribution Center in December 2007.
That's a great way to get production in line with sales, but how about making sure what's being produced will be what people will want for the future? To do that, the Chrysler Group says they'll be investing over $3 billion in new engines, transmissions and axles, in order to "move toward a portfolio that is more fuel efficient." That'll include a common axle program for all vehicles, plus work on a new transmission technology including a signed non-binding memorandum of understanding with Getrag in Germany to develop more fuel efficient "dual clutch" tranny tech. We'd prefer to see less craptastic plastic on the interiors, but whatevs, this is one way to do things. More to come soon as it happens.
Related:
Breaking! DaimlerChrysler Makes $7.3 Billion In 2006, Chrysler Group Posts Loss Of $1.5 Billion, Up To $1.3 Billion In 2007 On Restructuring; Breaking Valentine's Heart! Chrysler Group Gets 11,000 Job Cuts And Two Plant Closures [internal]