The rumors were flying, but Chrysler LLC yesterday confirmed the bad news. Under new ownership by Cerberus Capital Management LP, Chrysler will cut between 8,500 and 10,000 hourly jobs and remove 4 vehicles from its model lineup by the end of next year.
Hourly and salaried overtime will be slashed, alongside an additional 37 percent of contract workers and 1000 salaried jobs. Of some 57,000 union workers in Canada and the USA, the cuts amount to over 17 percent of the total workforce.
The axe falls on the Belvedere, Jefferson, Toledo, Brampton, Sterling Heights and Mack Avenue plants. Three of the five will eliminate a third shift. Also cut are four models- namely the PT Cruiser, Pacifica, Magnum and Crossfire Convertible.
Two new models may help offset the losses, as the carmaker is gearing up for the new Challenger and Journey next year, as well as hybrid versions of their large SUV's.
"The market situation has changed dramati cally in the eight months sinceChrysler established the Recovery and Transformation Plan as its blueprint," Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said in a statement. "Annual industry volume (U.S. market) then was running at a 17.2 million clip. Now we expect a seasonally adjusted annual for 2007 to be
significantly lower and carry over into 2008."
Hourly and salaried overtime will be slashed, alongside an additional 37 percent of contract workers and 1000 salaried jobs. Of some 57,000 union workers in Canada and the USA, the cuts amount to over 17 percent of the total workforce.
The axe falls on the Belvedere, Jefferson, Toledo, Brampton, Sterling Heights and Mack Avenue plants. Three of the five will eliminate a third shift. Also cut are four models- namely the PT Cruiser, Pacifica, Magnum and Crossfire Convertible.
Two new models may help offset the losses, as the carmaker is gearing up for the new Challenger and Journey next year, as well as hybrid versions of their large SUV's.
"The market situation has changed dramati cally in the eight months sinceChrysler established the Recovery and Transformation Plan as its blueprint," Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said in a statement. "Annual industry volume (U.S. market) then was running at a 17.2 million clip. Now we expect a seasonally adjusted annual for 2007 to be
significantly lower and carry over into 2008."