From Staff Reports
Declining domestic auto sales may lead to Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S. automaker, to cut 1,500 salaried and contract jobs, Bloomberg News reported yesterday (Tuesday), citing unnamed sources close to the company’s strategy.
These cuts are in addition to the 13,000 projected job cuts the newly private Chrysler already announced it would make in the next three years to reach profitability. As many as 415 of the cuts may be non-union, white-collar workers at the Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters, the sources said.
News of the cuts came while the United Auto Workers and Chrysler sat at the bargaining table. If they can’t iron out a resolution by 11 a.m. today, the assembly lines could stop and its operators will strike. The UAW and General Motors Corp. (GM) were able to avert a prolonged strike.
Only this time, the situation is a little different. With white-collar jobs also on the chopping block, both sides have more to lose.
“Feels like a strike is coming,” Lincoln Merrihew, auto industry analyst at TNS Automotive, said to MarketWatch. “The challenge may be all the new faces at Chrysler — they’re smart, but [they] have less experience with the UAW than does GM.”
News and Related Story Links:
- Bloomberg
Chrysler May Deepen White-Collar Job Cuts, People Say. - MarketWatch
Chrysler Plans More Cuts as Strike Deadline Looms.