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http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/10611/1/360FENTON, Mo. — An autoworker who is a member of the Missouri Legislature says Chrysler’s announcement that it is gutting 1,300 jobs from its South Assembly Plant here has “more to do with the bargaining climate than with the car sales.”
State Rep. John Bowman (D-St. Louis), a 30-year United Auto Workers union member from the Fenton plant, says that with the union engaged in national contract negotiations this year, the automaker wants “to get rid of high-seniority workers through attrition, buyouts and layoffs.”
Chrysler’s announcement laid out a three-year restructuring plan that will eliminate 13,000 jobs nationwide by 2009. Chrysler stocks jumped $5.33 cents per share, to $69.78 after the cuts were announced.
The South Assembly Plant, which currently has two shifts, makes Chrysler minivans and employs about 2,300 people. It is about 20 miles southwest of St. Louis.
The auto giant says it lost $1.5 billion in revenue last year, but reports on earnings on shares tell a different story. Chrysler shares earned $4.26 billion, or $4.17 per share, in 2006, compared to $3.76 billion, or $3.70 per share, in 2005. In other words, Chrysler made around $760 million more in profits last year, compared to the year before.
Chrysler’s parent company, DaimlerChrysler, posted operating income of $7.28 billion last year, up from $6.84 billion in 2005. And former Chrysler Chairman Robert J. Eaton received a personal compensation deal worth $70 million when he sold Chrysler to the German auto manufacturer.
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