Posted on 01/28/2008 12:37:42 PM PST by BGHater
Chrysler LLC said on Monday it is offering buyouts of up to $100,000 each to hourly workers at 12 of its Detroit-area facilities as part of its November plan to eliminate up to 10,000 unionized jobs.
The offer will be extended to about 14,000 workers represented by the United Auto Workers union at the plants which make cars, engines, axles and other parts, Chrysler spokeswoman Michele Tinson said. About 4,600 can opt for a more attractive retirement package.
The buyouts could be extended to a 13th plant in Warren, Michigan, which was idled this week, and the automaker is in talks with the UAW to extend them to eight other U.S. plants, she said. The same offer was made earlier this year to hourly workers at plants in Belvidere, Illinois; Toledo, Ohio; and St. Louis, Missouri.
General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co said earlier in January that they had launched buyouts for UAW-represented hourly workers in North America.
GM's buyout offers cover about 46,000 workers, while Ford said it would offer buyouts to all 54,000 UAW hourly workers. Ford did not announce a target for the buyouts but has nearly 12,000 retirement-eligible U.S. factory workers.
Industry analysts expect the U.S. auto sector to experience another down year in 2008 -- with one investor predicting a possible 15-year sales low. Top U.S. auto executives have said they would not hesitate to further adjust restructuring plans as needed if the market weakened further.
In November, Chrysler, which private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management took over in August, said it would cut up to 10,000 hourly jobs over the next 14 months as it moved to slash North American production.
The cuts were in addition to 13,000 jobs Chrysler had already planned to eliminate as part of a restructuring plan announced in February. Combined, the two announcements represented almost half its unionized factory positions.
Chrysler said in November it would also cut 1,000 salaried jobs and eliminate almost 40 percent of its white-collar contract positions.
Cerberus took control of Chrysler in a $7.4 billion deal. Daimler AG retains a nearly 20 percent stake in the U.S. automaker.
The Chrysler offers run through February 18, Tinson said. The buyout includes a lump-sum payment of $100,000 and six months of health benefits, while the retirement package includes a lump-sum payment of $70,000 as well as better pension and health-care benefits.
Too little,Too late.Should have gotten rid of the Union Workers years ago.
Considering that auto workers are paid at the high end of the Union scale this is a low ball offer.
Wow. Will the last person out of Michigan please turn out the lights?
Will the last person out of Michigan please turn out the lights?
very cute. and not too unlikely.
I’d be looking to get rid of anything remotely associated with the UAW including sponsoring the NASCAR races and anything else with those initials printed on it.
These buyouts don’t prevent these people from ever getting jobs again, btw. They could potentially go back to work for the automaker again in the future but it will hopefully prevent another disasterous labor agreement since the UAW will be left representing virtually nobody.
Reality bites!
Seems the UAW in my neck of the woods (Navastar) found out the hard way that the management meant business.
They offered a ‘take it or leave it’ contract. Well, they left it for a little while.... They came back just before Christmas.
Yes, timing is everything. My post was really about those retirement eligible. Amazing that the Union didn’t have a 2 year clause.
Detroit shouldn't worry, Mitt's from Michigan and he's going to save it. He promised.
America represents a shining city on a hill. Detroit, Michigan represents a dull tarnished city in a hole. A wonderful example of what unions have done for their beloved workers. Long gone are the days of the poorly educated and easily led union worker waiting for someone to take their money. And make political decisions for them. Most can’t even see this is a plus for America. I can’t find any reason to feel sorry for them after all the years of blindly following union mob leaders they get what they deserve.
The bloodletting continues. Yes, I know management and the UAW brought this on themselves. Still, there are real people and families and communities behind the numbers.
The Midwest will recover someday, but the pain will will be incredible.
They should have built better cars instead of sabotaging the ones they did build.
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