Chrysler Offers Buyout To 23,000 Workers

[Purveyor]

Source: CNNMoney.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Days before unveiling its latest recovery plan, Chrysler Group has extended a buyout program to 23,000 U.S. workers in an effort to further trim its workforce.

In a statement, Chrysler said workers have until Nov. 13 to accept the proposal, and that the company would determine who qualifies for it depending on operational needs. The company said termination dates would be at its discretion.

The automaker said special programs were being offered at facilities that are being forced to close as a result of the bankruptcy process that occurred earlier this year. The deadline for accepting those programs depends on the facility, Chrysler said.

Chrysler emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, saying it would close some of its U.S. plants as part of the reorganization. Its ownership is a group that includes the Italian automaker Fiat, the U.S. government, the United Auto Workers union's retiree trust and the Canadian and Ontario governments.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/01/news/companies/Chrysler_buyout/?postversion=2009110111

[Ikonoklast]

1. Take the money and run.

Chrysler and their sub-standard product line are not going to survive.

[divideandconquer]

2. I bet Chrysler outsells Honda in 2012

GM's already reeling in Toyota. I'll put the Chrysler 300 against any comparably priced Japanese large car. Fiat's even going upmarket with this platform with Maserati, Alfa and Lancia versions as well as the hottest Charger since 1968.
.

[boppers]

3. The Chrysler 300 gets a pathetic 13-19 mpg in the city.

Uh, yeahbutno. It's a freaking gas-guzzler. This is the kind of car thinking that killed them, making "luxury" vehicles that had extremely limited market share, poor performance, and feature overkill.

[divideandconquer]

4. 18city, 26 hwy for the 6 cylinder 300/Charger

If these car weren't very good why are they blowing out Ford and Gm in police departments from coast to coast? BTW they have industry leading gas mileage engines on the way and FIAT already leads the world in gas and diesel gas mileage with their MULTI-AIR technology engines.

[boppers]

7. 18/26 is absolutely horrible. Why are police departments wasting gas like that?

My 9 year old Saab 9-3 turbo gets better mpg than that... maybe it's just an ego/show-of-force thing, people wanting "big" cars to show their power, rather than police using efficient cars?

As far as a Chrysler beating out Ford and GM... that's not exactly much of an endorsement.

[Selatius]

10. 18 city, 26 hwy is very poor. It would fail to pass efficiency standards found in Europe.

Gasoline engine technology found in Germany, Japan, and the UK is beyond that.

I drive a hand-me-down Toyota Camry that gets into the mid-20s MPG in city driving, and this car was built back in 1995 using 1995 technology, but the way I drive I get closer to 29 or 30 MPG because I don't gun the engine.

[divideandconquer]

17. A 1995 Neon got better gas mileage than your Camry

Comparing big cars vs small cars. A Ram5.7L Hemi truck gets 2 mpg better hwy gas mileage than Toyota Tundra 5.7 V8 and is more powerful.
<http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm>

[Selatius]

21. True, but the toyota corolla matched the neon on fuel efficiency any day of the week

Not championing imports over domestics, but the fact that Chrysler went into bankruptcy, while a company like Ford survived is indicative of the problems at Chrysler.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

13. I had a 300 as a rental a few weeks ago - it was horrible

Theoretically I had reserved a Suzuki Swift, but lucky me I got an "upgrade" (no other cars left) and could choose between the 300 or Ford Explorer. I hate driving SUV's so I took the 300 and it just pissed me off the whole week.

The engine light was on right off the lot, rental manager said "yeah, that one does dat - it nuthin' just some smog shit" the climate control had two settings "slaughter house and sperm bank" and yeah... the fuel economy - awful. I expected it to handle like a large car, but it handled like an aircraft carrier.

[Ikonoklast]

5. I'll take that bet.

Chrysler has about the worst reputation, deservedly so, for reliablitiy and customer satisfaction among the larger manufacturers, which is a killer for repeat sales.

Unless they can fool enough first-time buyers to purchase their sub-standard vehicles, they are toast.

Honda will overtake Chrysler in sales within those three years, as their new owners try to make sense of the mess...and fail. They will be a markedly smaller auto manufacturer in the near future.


I worked in Chrysler's supply chain for five years.

They just didn't live in the real world when it came to understanding that lack of quality was killing them.

"If we build and sell enough of 'em, even if they're shoddy, we'll still make money!"

Those days are looooong gone.

[boppers]

9. Having worked in a few QA and supply chain jobs over the years...

This is the single biggest thing killing the US economy, US manufacturing, US products.

I know companies willing to pay $70,000 for a single heavy machine bearing, made in Germany, even though the US version costs about $5,000. Why? Because the US version typically lasts 6 months, the German version lasts 5-8 years. Even though, over 5 years, the US bearing itself will cost much less, the service costs are much, much, higher.

[Ikonoklast]

11. Chrysler's seemingly lack of concern about quality issues drove Daimler crazy.

Daimler just couldn't convince their American brethren that the lack of continual quality improvements would eventually kill them off.

Daimler took a bath, but it looks like they bailed just in time.


I remember when Dieter first came stateside taking the tour of all the production facilities, and the local Chrysler plant. The executives as well as the shop floor guys thought he was going to give them a big rah-rah speech, how good a job they did, etc.

What he did tell them that if they didn't improve their quality he would close the plant.

I got a chuckle out of that one. The other actual employees...not so much.

[boppers]

12. Be part of the change... or be part of the changed.

Simple math, really.

[fujiyama]

15. I spoke to a rep from a supplier once

and she said the same thing. I worked at another major OEM and I knew we had some work with her company at the time. I figured I'd casually ask her which company was the worst to work with, hoping she wouldn't name the company I worked for at the time.

Without hesitation, she said it was such a pain in the ass dealing with Chrysler and that they would have absolutely no concern for the supplier, and they would have last minute tooling changes, making the process incredibly chaotic and expensive. Basically it sounded like they were a very unreliable business partner.

Their fit and finish is terrible. I've driven a few of them, and they are by far the worst on the market. To group them with Ford and GM is a disservice to the two, because at least they've made some focus on making quality and reliability improvements.

I still favored the bailout, due to the number of jobs at stake, but the company has been a textbook case of how NOT to manage a company!

[divideandconquer]

16. Sebring sedan tied Nissan Altima for initial quality of midsize sedans in JD Power

"Chrysler Sebring (sedan and convertible), which finished fourth in the highly competitive midsize car segment that includes competitors such as Nissan Altima, Pontiac G6, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord - in fact, when filtering out just the Chrysler Sebring sedan, it tied with the Nissan Altima for first place in the segment with a score of 81 points."
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<http://www.eyeofdubai.com/v1/news/newsdetail-32329.htm>

[divideandconquer]

20. Here's one of the cars that will beat Honda

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2009/06/fiat-500-coming-soon-to-a-chrysler-dealer-near-you.html

[Selatius]

22. I've driven a Mini-Cooper. Those cars are fun to drive. The 500 looks like fun, too. nt

[high density]

6. The 2010 300 starts at nearly $30k

And for a $30k car, Chrysler is slapping a four speed auto transmission in it... Ridiculous.

There's a shitload of better cars at that price range. 2010 Buick LaCrosse and Ford Taurus are two of them.

[divideandconquer]

18. Neither are rear wheel drive or offer V8's

[Jack_DeLeon]

8. ROFL

thats a joke right?

[Craftsman]

14. I just got rid of my Heep (Spelling intentional) Cherokee

The stain of chrysler is out of my drive way, but the oil, coolant, transmission and brake fluid stains remain.

[divideandconquer]

19. Bet you had no problem selling it

How many miles did it have?