Chrysler offering more buyouts

Carmaker to pitch packages to all UAW workers at Metro plants as it moves to cut 10,000 hourly jobs.

Eric Morath / The Detroit News

All UAW workers at Chrysler LLC’s Metro Detroit area plants are expected to be offered buyout or early retirement packages as the company moves to cut up to 10,000 hourly jobs.

Workers at 11 sites received the offers Monday, said Chrysler spokeswoman Michele Tinson. Offers have not yet been extended at Chrysler’s Warren Truck plant because it is on temporary shutdown this week.

The packages could minimize the need for layoffs at the plants. Workers at Sterling Heights Assembly and Detroit Axle were told in recent weeks that layoffs were in the works.

Previously, employees at Chrysler’s Jefferson North plant in Detroit and several out-of-state factories were offered deals. The facilities receiving buyout offers Monday included: Sterling Heights Assembly, Sterling Stamping, Trenton Engine, Mack Engine I & II, Detroit Axle, Warren Stamping, Conner Assembly, Mt. Elliot Tool & Die, Sterling Heights Vehicle Test Center and Pilot manufacturing at the company’s Auburn Hills headquarters.

In addition, about 110 salaried UAW employees who work as engineers in Auburn Hills and other locations were also offered early retirement packages on Monday.

Chrysler wants to slash its factory work force to bring production in line with reduced demand for its products.

The automaker employs about 14,000 United Auto Workers members at its 12 Metro Detroit manufacturing sites.

Some 4,600 of those workers are eligible for early retirement. Workers have until Feb. 18 to decide.

Chrysler employs 41,940 UAW members nationwide.

Interest appears mixed

Interest in taking the deals appears to be mixed.

Lydia Johnson, a worker at Sterling Height Assembly, said there wouldn’t be much left of $100,000 after taxes and bills. "I’d be looking for a job again shortly," she said. "With two small kids at home, I can’t afford to be without the insurance."

Gary Betway, an 11-year veteran at Trenton Engine, said if he’s eligible for early retirement, he’ll snap up the offer.

"I’m on the brink of retirement," said the 59-year-old. "With the continued downsizing of the auto industry, I can’t see why someone in my position wouldn’t take a buyout."

The offers are part of a plan Chrysler outlined in November to cut up to 10,000 hourly jobs on top of 11,000 factory jobs being slashed as part of a restructuring plan announced last February. Tinson said the company is not planning more staff cuts at this time.

"In an effort to be socially responsible, together the company and the UAW are offering these special programs to the Detroit labor market," Tinson said. "In this difficult market, we need to get the company right sized for success."

UAW officials did not return calls Monday.

Few may be willing to walk away

The packages offered to workers mirror those many received after Chrysler announced the job cuts in February. Without a sweeter deal, it may be hard to find many workers willing to walk away, said Aaron Bragman, an auto analyst at Global Insight Inc.

"The economy is not any better now," he said. "Even if workers want to leave they may have a hard time selling their house or finding another job."

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are also offering buyouts to UAW workers as vehicle sales slump. Last week, Ford upped the cash payout to those who take early retirement.

Chrysler’s strategy to expand the number of plants eligible for buyouts is smart, Bragman said. More workers accepting could lower labor costs as vehicle production falls. Should volumes increase again, Chrysler can hire lower-wage workers to replace them in some cases, as allowed under its new UAW contract.

But thoughts that this might be the last mass buyout at the automaker are premature. "There is no such guarantee with the industry in flux," Bragman said. "If they need to cut more people, they’ll offer more buyouts."