Ford and GM announce production cuts as US sales slump continues
Wall Street Journal Dec 4, 07 8:35 CST
(Newser)
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Ford and GM will join Chrysler in cutting production in early 2008, reports the Wall Street Journal today, following sluggish November sales and anticipated weak demand driven by continued economic fallout. Only Ford saw a modest 0.6% improvement in US sales last month, while GM sales were down 11% and Chrysler 2%.
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Reuters Nov 19, 07 7:49 CST
(Newser)
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Automakers are predicting a mildly soft sales year for 2008, but analysts warn a “poverty effect” caused by an imploding housing market could send US light auto sales skidding as much as 9.4% to their worst year since 1993, Reuters reports. “I’m just not sure how bad it could be,” said one. “We all know housing is a debacle.”
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To return to profitability, car maker may restructure its vehicle and dealer lineup
Wall Street Journal Nov 17, 07 2:09 PM CST
(Newser)
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Clued-in dealers say Chrysler is considering a restructuring plan to simplify its lineup: Chrysler dealers would sell all the company’s passenger cars, Jeep dealers would carry only Jeeps and SUVs, and Dodge dealers would handle commercial trucks and pickups. The reorganization would allow Chrysler to eliminate overlapping models and cut up to 1,000 underperforming dealers, reports the Wall Street Journal .
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All three big
automakers have
now finalized deals
Detroit Free Press Nov 14, 07 3:16 PM CST
(Newser)
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UAW workers at Ford overwhelmingly approved a four-year contract today that shifts responsibility for some retiree health benefits to the union, the Detroit Free Press reports. The agreement also allows Ford to hire new employees for lower wages and fewer benefits. The contract approval follows similar deals at GM and Chrysler, though Ford was the only one of the three to avoid a strike.
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Good news is new reason for Fed to
hold interest rates
Bloomberg Nov 2, 07 10:25 CDT
(Newser)
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Job growth in October was unexpectedly robust, with the addition of 166,000 jobs doubling projections and easing recession fears. Analysts had predicted an increase of only 85,000 jobs; one economist said the surprise figure “will increase the Fed's conviction that it should keep rates unchanged” for months to come, Bloomberg reports. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.7%.
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Company will cut jobs, vehicles to adjust to failing auto market
Bloomberg Nov 1, 07 11:59 CDT
(Newser)
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Chrysler today announced plans to cut up to 12,100 jobs, about 14% of its workforce, on top of the 13,000 layoffs announced in February. With the US auto market tumbling—sales are on pace for their worst year since 1998—Chrysler’s new owners, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, hope to slim the company’s profile, Bloomberg reports. Four vehicles are getting the ax as well.
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Workers approve deal by narrow majority
Wall Street Journal Oct 27, 07 11:07 CDT
(Newser)
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The UAW said today that its employees had approved a four-year contract with Chrysler by the thinnest of margins, the Wall Street Journal reports. The union said 56% of production workers and 51% of skilled trade workers voted in favor of the deal, despite significant dissent among workers. The UAW will now concentrate on nailing down a deal with Ford.
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As Chrysler ratification nears, toughest talks yet to come
Wall Street Journal Oct 26, 07 4:30 CDT
(Newser)
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With the United Auto Workers close to ratifying their contract with Chrysler, the union is shifting focus to hammering out a deal with Ford. Negotiations with Ford may prove the toughest of all because Ford is the domestic car maker most in need of cuts, reports the Wall Street Journal . Ford posted a net loss of $12.6 billion in 2006.
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Workers at four plants vote yes, tipping the scales
Wall Street Journal Oct 25, 07 3:38 CDT
(Newser)
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Auto workers at four Chrysler plants voted by significant margins to approve a new labor contract yesterday, increasing the likelihood of final ratification by the company's 45,000 workers, despite rejection at several plants. The last vote, at a small-car plant in Illinois that employs 3,000 workers, is scheduled for tomorrow.
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Four Indiana plants join six others in voting down proposed contract
Wall Street Journal Oct 24, 07 8:10 CDT
(Newser)
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UAW workers at four Chrysler plants in Indiana last night rejected the embattled contract negotiated by their leaders with the automaker, adding to the six defeats by rank-and-file voters over the weekend. Some smaller locals have approved the contract, says anti-contract organizer Bill Parker, but the larger ones are rejecting it.
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After 6 locals vote down proposed contract, UAW steps up lobbying
Wall Street Journal Oct 21, 07 11:02 PM CDT
(Newser)
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UAW members at three auto plants rejected the proposed pact between Chrysler and their union this weekend, bringing to six the number of locals who have voted down the deal, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a last-ditch effort to salvage the agreement, union leaders are focusing lobbying efforts on upcoming votes at plants in Michigan and Illinois.
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3 UAW locals vote
down offer that
would 'lower our standard of living'
New York Times Oct 20, 07 4:44 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Three UAW locals voted against the new Chrysler deal yesterday, stirring fears that the agreement may be scuttled. Two plants voted against it by 53%, and a third, in Missouri, by 66% among skilled trades and 79% among assembly line workers. They slammed a proposed 2-level pay structure and new job categories that would mean lower wages, the New York Times reports.
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Some local UAW leaders unhappy with new contract
Detroit Free Press Oct 16, 07 3:05 CDT
(Newser)
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The proposed contract between Chrysler and the United Auto Workers has caused some division within the union and may not be ratified as quickly as the deal with General Motors, reports the Detroit Free Press . The council of local leaders who voted to approve it yesterday in Detroit were not not unanimous; some are unhappy that the it lacks some of the job security provisions of the GM deal.
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Union hopes for a similar deal with Ford
Wall Street Journal Oct 12, 07 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Chrysler's UAW deal came about largely as a result of the company's late concession to preserve 3,100 UAW jobs at its Mopar parts arm and a transport operation . But even as the union trumpets those victories, more union concessions—allowing Chrysler to cut costs—will probably come to light soon, reports the Wall Street Journal.
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Tentative contract, said to follow model set by GM pact, brings peace
Wall Street Journal Oct 10, 07 5:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Chrysler and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract this afternoon, the Wall Street Journal reports, just hours after UAW members walked off the job at Chrysler plants. The agreement