Chrysler Faces Cash Crunch

Cerberus relying on tough-talking new CEO to cut costs

(NEWSER) - Former Home Depot chief Bob Nardelli has a reputation for being a brusque, hard-edged maverick, and that’s exactly what his new bosses at Chrysler want, Reuters reports. Cerberus Capital Management hopes to stem losses at the automaker by cutting costs, particularly in the delicate area of unionized workers. Nardelli’s gruff style may improve numbers—or it may wind up confounding labor negotiations. More»

Automaker faces second straight year in the red

(NEWSER) - Chrysler will be screeching toward a second consecutive year in the red, sources told the Wall Street Journal, as the automaker will lose $1.6 billion. CEO Robert Nardelli told designers and engineers this week that while the beleaguered automaker’s revenue was about $63 billion, costs exceeded $64 billion. The newly private company no longer must report earnings publicly. More»

Onlookers worry what Steven Feinberg is up to with Chrysler

(NEWSER) - Portfolio does its best to profile Stephen Feinberg—the ultra-secretive, ultra-cutthroat CEO of Cerberus Capital Management—without talking to him. Feinberg avoids the media like the plague, preferring to bring faltering companies into the black in secret, and his shadowy plans for new stepchild Chrysler are no exception. More»

Nardelli tapped as CEO in takeover shake-up

(NEWSER) - In a major shake up, Chrysler 's chief executive will be replaced by former Home Depot boss Bob Nardelli, the Wall Street Journal reports. An auto official called Nardelli a "real change agent" in an industry rocked by foreign competition. Nardelli is the second auto-industry neophyte to be named recently to head one of the "Big Three" car companies. More»

(NEWSER) - Der Spiegel vivisects Cerberus, the private equity group that won Chrysler for a relative bargain today from German auto giant Daimler. Financier Stephen Feinberg's 15-year-old firm has $60 billion in assets, and specializes in companies on the brink of bankruptcy. The group avoids the spotlight, recruits former CEOs and politicians, including John Snow and Dan Quayle, and flips its holdings expeditiously. More»