Tom Cobb
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Auto Industry NewsChrysler to Cut 12,100 Jobs, Drop 4 Models
Chrysler LLC will almost double its planned job cuts to as many as 25,100 and scrap four models after losing $680 million last year, Bloomberg News reported.
The company will fire as many as 12,100 more employees through 2008, after saying in February that it would eliminate 13,000 positions over three years. The latest job reductions include plants in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Ontario, the company said in a statement last Thursday.
Chrysler is dropping the PT Cruiser convertible, Crossfire car, Dodge Magnum wagon and Pacifica sport-utility vehicle, Bloomberg said.
The latest reductions include 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs, 1,000 salaried positions and about 1,100 contract workers, and represent as much as 16% of the automaker's 77,000 employees, Bloomberg said. Buyouts and early retirement offers will be used to trim the hourly jobs, spokesman Mike Aberlich said. L&MT
GM, Toyota Increase Sales; Ford Slips Again
General Motors Corp. and Japanese automakers led the U.S. auto industry to its first monthly sales gain since May, while Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC slipped, Bloomberg News reported.
GM, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. all extended sales streaks in October. Toyota Motor Corp. stopped a three-month skid. Ford's sales dropped for the 12th consecutive month, and Chrysler's fell for a fifth, Bloomberg said.
The industry overcame rising gasoline prices and a weak U.S. housing market that has curbed demand for profitable big trucks, Bloomberg said.
Gasoline prices again approaching $3 a gallon contributed to a 1.8% drop in industry truck sales through October, Bloomberg said.
Truck sales account for at least 60% of U.S. automakers' lineups, making those companies vulnerable to rising fuel prices. At Toyota and Honda, the figure is about 42%, Bloomberg said. L&MT
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