Chrysler job cuts

[RB TexLa]

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC said on Thursday it would cut up to 10,000 hourly jobs over the next 14 months as it slashes production in North America and eliminates four slow-selling vehicles.

The announcement of the sweeping job cuts -- representing more than one-fifth of Chrysler's unionized work force -- came four days after workers at the automaker narrowly ratified a new contract that had faced deep-seated opposition from union rank and file.

Chrysler said it would eliminate shifts at five North American assembly plants and stop making the Dodge Magnum sedan, the convertible version of the PT Cruiser, the Chrysler Pacifica SUV and the Chrysler Crossfire sports car.

In addition to the cuts in hourly jobs, the privately owned automaker said it would cut 1,000 salaried jobs and eliminate almost 40 percent of its white-collar contract positions.

The layoffs are in addition to 13,000 jobs that Chrysler cut as part of a restructuring plan announced in February and mark the deepest job reductions undertaken by any of the embattled U.S. automakers.

The deep cuts show Chrysler's new private equity owner, Cerberus Capital Management, is putting its stamp on a more sweeping restructuring plan than it endorsed when it acquired the automaker in August.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071101/bs_nm/chrysler_layoffs_dc_4