Say It Isn't So
November 1, 2007
Chrysler to Cut 11,000 Jobs and Drop Models
DETROIT, Nov. 1 — Chrysler LLC said today that it would cut up to 10,000 more hourly jobs, eliminate 1,000 salaried positions, and discontinue shifts at five assembly plants in the United States and Canada, in the first major steps under its new private owners.
. . . “These actions reflect our new customer-driven philosophy and allow us to focus our resources on new, more profitable and appealing products,” added James Press, Chrysler’s other co-president. “Further, these product actions are all in response to dealer requests.” --full article-- _________________________________________________________________- Better late than never, I guess--although Chrysler's new customer-driven philosophy should be an embarrassment to voice out loud. For a solid fifty years of decline (I exaggerate, make that forty) Chrysler executives set the models to suit themselves and then went off to play golf. Suiting themselves meant suiting profit and the easy way to do that was to build huge rust-buckets, with lots of accessories. What's our tee-off time? It was the buyers who finally became teed-off and began buying small, well made and (apparently) profitable cars that--like Google--had the user in mind. So now, now that the game is basically over, now that GM is running to China with its tail between its legs, Chrysler actually has the guts to announce a new customer-driven philosophy. Which may be why Daimler-Benz was so quick to wash their hands of the whole unsavory merger. Another sad day and another sad announcement by a company that just can't find its ass with both hands.
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