Free Republic

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. INDIANAPOLIS - DaimlerChrysler AG will close its Indianapolis foundry and eliminate 881 jobs by Sept. 30, reducing the automaker's once formidable Indiana manufacturing presence to just the city of Kokomo. DaimlerChrysler recently notified the Indiana Department of Workforce Development of the closure under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act. The law requires employers to give 60 days notice before certain plant closings and layoffs. The loss of 881 jobs is the largest in Indiana under WARN this year. A provision in the four-year labor agreement struck by the...

Report: Automaker's customers don't want Sirius because they don't want to listen to the shock jock. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A surprising number of Hyundai customers said they didn't want Sirius Satellite Radio installed in their vehicles because they objected to Howard Stern, according to an auto news Web site. The so-called "shock jock" will broadcast on Sirius (up $0.08 to $5.33, Research) Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. beginning in January 2006, said Inside Line, an online news source that is part of Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com is a partner in CNN.com's automotive news and information channels. Hyundai...

The following letter was sent today to Chrysler Group President and CEO Dr. Dieter Zetsche by Peter Flaherty, president of the National Legal and Policy Center: The purpose of this letter is two-fold. We ask that remarks attributed to DaimlerChrysler senior vice president Frank Fountain be withdrawn, and that DaimlerChrysler cease financial support for Jesse Jackson and his organizations. According to CNSNews.com, Fountain stated during Jackson’s Wall Street Conference last week, “Most of [Jackson’s] critics are conservatives. They have a rather myopic view of the world.” Even more surprising, Fountain allegedly stated, “From my fairly close knowledge of [Jackson’s] operation,...