Chrysler expected to lay off 200

UAW-represented salaried employees targeted

Eric Morath / The Detroit News

Pink slips are expected Friday for 200 UAW-represented Chrysler LLC salaried employees at the Auburn Hills headquarters, a source close to the situation said Wednesday.

The United Auto Workers members, most of whom perform design and engineering functions, will be the first unionized staffers to be dismissed as part of Chrysler’s plan, announced Nov. 1, to cut as many as 12,000 more jobs.

Of those, 8,500 to 10,000 will be union jobs, and most will be cut at five Chrysler assembly plants. The factory cuts are aimed at bringing production in line with demand.

The 200 salaried workers who will be laid off Friday also are being let go because of production cuts. The source was unsure if buyout packages would be offered to the workers, who are represented by Local 412. The local represents salaried UAW workers at the automaker’s headquarters and elsewhere in Metro Detroit.

Previously, Chrysler officials had said union cuts would not come until the first-quarter of 2008, when factory shift reductions begin. Earlier this month, workers at Detroit’s Jefferson North plant learned that Chrysler will eliminate the second shift there Feb. 4. That will come on the heels of a three-week idling of the entire factory to reduce inventory.

The other four factories targeted for shift reduction — Sterling Heights Assembly and plants in Toledo; Ontario, Canada; and Belvidere, Ill. — are expected to learn their new schedules before the end of March.

UAW Local President 412 Jeff Hagler said he’s heard talk of layoffs in his ranks, but has not received official word from top UAW leaders. UAW officials did not return calls seeking comment.

The 200 layoffs add to the exodus of white-collar Chrysler workers from the Auburn Hills complex and elsewhere.

Some 1,000 nonunion salaried workers have accepted buyout packages. The first wave left Nov. 30 and the remainder will depart at the end of this month. Those employees were offered packages that included full pensions and retiree health care, and in some cases three months’ pay and a $20,000 car voucher — depending on the worker’s age and length of service.

Also, 1,100 contract workers were terminated in November.

More job cuts are predicted

In total, the moves will drastically scale back Chrysler’s North American operations.

The newly private automaker, and owner Cerberus Capital Management LP, hope bringing the size of its operations in line with Chrysler’s sliding U.S. market share will result in a healthier company.

But as long as demand for Chrysler products continues to slip — through November, sales were down 3.4 percent from 2006 — more job losses are likely, said Aaron Bragman, automotive research analyst at Global Insight. Chrysler executives have told employees that the automaker expects to lose $1.6 billion in 2007.

"We haven’t seen the last of jobs cuts at Chrysler," Bragman said.

"Stability is not going to come until they right some of their products and stop year-over-year sales declines Nothing breathes jobs security like a profitable company."