NARDELLI SWINGS AX, CHOPS 11,000 CHRYSLER WORKERS

As we've discussed previously, Robert Nardelli was brought in to Chrysler to tame the labor union and fire thousands of workers. In his short tenure, he has negotiated a controversial contract that was barely ratified and less than a week later cut 11,000 jobs. Nardelli and Cerberus will be ruthless in cutting costs to make Chrysler more attractive for a future sale. Building the brand for the long term is not what Nardelli and Cerberus are about. They are only interested wringing every last penny of value from a once proud brand and extracting as much profit in as short of a time period as possible. When they are finished with Chrysler, they will sell what is left, likely a shell of the former company, and look for their next victim.

From The New York Times:

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.

The company also is dropping four models from its lineup, including the convertible version of its PT Cruiser sport wagon, as well as the Chrysler Pacifica, a crossover vehicle criticized as being too big and too expensive for family buyers.

Also leaving the lineup are the Dodge Magnum, a low-slung station wagon, and the Chrysler Crossfire two-seater. Both those vehicles are based on underpinnings from Mercedes-Benz, which is owned by Chrysler’s former parent, Daimler.

The job cuts, which will take effect through 2008, are in addition to a plan announced in February that would eliminate 13,000 North American positions. Altogether, they represent a 30 percent reduction in Chrysler’s 2006 work force of 80,000.

Today’s cuts, though expected, were more than twice as deep as some industry analysts anticipated.

Chrysler said the cuts at its factories would affect 8,500 to 10,000 workers. It said it would eliminate third shifts at plants in Belvidere, Ill., Toledo, Ohio, and Brampton, Ontario.

It also is eliminating the second shift of workers at the Jefferson North plant in Detroit and its plant in Sterling Heights, Mich.

The company also said it would reduce a shift at its Mack Avenue engine plant in Detroit, which has been working on three shifts.

The Canadian Auto Workers union president, Basil Hargrove, called the job cuts an “absolute disaster.”

“This is a huge hit to us,” he said during a news conference this morning in Toronto.