Posted Friday on Cars.com - - This is what I have feared the most....
the total dissolving of whatever was left of the independant Chrysler
company. Major parts sharing... etc... Chrysler will become a simple
division.
DaimlerChrysler Weighs Restructuring Plans
Posted 02/23/01 9:29 a.m. CST
By Hans Greimel
Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany — The supervisory board of DaimlerChrysler met Friday
to weigh what are reportedly radical reforms at the automaker’s troubled
Chrysler division and Mitsubishi affiliate.
The official plans will be unveiled during a news conference Monday.
DaimlerChrysler also is expected to detail Chrysler’s fourth-quarter
losses that could double the $512 million loss from the previous
quarter.
The plans, which are reported to include as many as 8,000 layoffs at
Mitsubishi, a management shakeup across DaimlerChrysler and a mandate
for greater parts sharing between Chrysler, Mitsubishi and
Mercedes-Benz, are expected to win approval Friday from the company’s
20-member non-executive supervisory board.
DaimlerChrysler spokesman Michael Pfister has refused to give details of
the makeover before Monday. As speculation swirled about the reform
plans, investors sent DaimlerChrysler shares falling 3.29 percent to
52.90 euros ($48.14) in midday Frankfurt trading. DaimlerChrysler shares
were trading at $48.11, down $1.84 on Wall Street Friday morning.
DaimlerChrysler launched its restructuring plan last month, saying the
plan would slash 26,000 jobs, or one-fifth of its work force at its
U.S.-based Chrysler division, over the next three years and idle six
Chrysler plants.
Since then, German and Japanese news reports have said Mitsubishi, which
is 34 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler, has come under pressure to
eliminate thousands of workers worldwide, scrap several passenger car
models and close one or two factories.
DaimlerChrysler will also overhaul its management, introducing a new
“executive automotive committee”. The group will oversee the
Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and commercial vehicle divisions, as well as its
alliance with Mitsubishi, according to The Financial Times Deutschland.
The committee, to be headed by chief executive Juergen Schrempp, would
replace the current system of separate automotive, sales and marketing
councils. It would also cement Schrempp’s power over the group, the
newspaper said.
Meanwhile, DaimlerChrysler’s supervisory board is expected to review
plans to put Mercedes engines in some Chrysler models for the U.S.
market, according to the Wall Street Journal Europe. That move would be
a dramatic departure from the company’s long-held philosophy of keeping
brands separate.
While it could help the company squeeze extra savings and give the
Chrysler brand a boost, critics worry it could dilute the Mercedes
mystique — and make people less willing to pay more for a Mercedes when
they can get similar quality from a lower-priced Chrysler.
Copyright 2001 by Associated Press.
-- ------------------------------------------------------------- "She has a face that would make an onion cry"Tom S. http://members.aol.com/silvereightynine Site Updated - on 2/5/01 1989,V6,Auto,8 footer,4x2 1989,V6,Auto,8 footer,4x4 w/snowplow (woohoo!!)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 11:59:29 EDT