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ISSUES & FORUMS
Corporate Reform:
Chrysler to Cut 13,000 Jobs in Overhaul
Auburn Hills, Michigan - DaimlerChrysler said today that it was leaving all options open for the future of its struggling Chrysler Group, which announced a plan to close all or part of four plants and eliminate 13,000 jobs in North America.
The announcements came as DaimlerChrysler said it earned nearly $7.3 billion last year, despite a loss of nearly $1.5 billion for Chrysler. The Chrysler loss compared with a profit of just more than $2 billion in 2005. "It was a strong year at three of our divisions, but it's been a difficult and disappointing one here at the Chrysler Group," Dieter Zetsche, the chief executive of the German parent, said this morning. The restructuring plan marked a dramatic swing for a company that had seemed to avoid the same declines as its Detroit rivals. Chrysler said it would close its Newark, Del., assembly plant in 2009, as well as a parts distribution center in Cleveland. It also will eliminate one shift of workers at truck plants in Warren, Mich., and St. Louis.
In all, Chrysler said 13,000 employees, or 16 percent of its work force, would lose their jobs by the end of 2009, including 11,000 hourly workers. Of those hourly workers, 9,000 will lose their jobs in the United States and 2,000 in Canada. Another 2,000 white-collar workers will see their jobs eliminated over the next two years.
The Chrysler restructuring plan was approved by the DaimlerChrysler supervisory board, which met at Chrysler's headquarters here. In a statement, the board left Chrysler's future wide open amid calls by some shareholders for the company to spin off the money-losing American unit.
"The board of management intends to consider other, more far-reaching strategic options with partners" as part of the restructuring, the company said in a statement.
It went on, "No option is being excluded in the interest of arriving at the best possible solution for the Chrysler Group and DaimlerChrysler as a whole."
In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of DaimlerChrysler had gained $2.74, or about 4.3 percent, to $67.19.The statement came about four months after DaimlerChrysler sent the first signals that Chrysler's future might not be secure.
In October, DaimlerChrysler's chief financial officer, Bodo Uebber, said the company would not rule out spinning off Chrysler, which merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler.
Company executives, including Mr. Zetsche, quickly insisted that that scenario was not under consideration.
But the suggestion has been raised a number of times by DaimlerChrysler shareholders and industry analysts. They have said DaimlerChrysler would be better off focusing primarily on Mercedes-Benz, its commercial truck group and the Smart division, which makes small cars.
For now, Chrysler will embark on its second major restructuring since the year 2000. "Over all, the status quo is unacceptable," Chrysler's chief executive, Thomas W. LaSorda, said this morning. In a statement released early today, Mr. LaSorda said the program had two parts.
"First, the Chrysler Group needs to solidify its position in the North American marketplace," Mr. LaSorda said in the statement. "In addition, the key to our long-term success will be our ability to transform the organization into a different company to achieve and sustain long-term profitability." Chrysler said it would explore partnerships beyond its current arrangements, which include a deal to build minivans for Volkswagen and a tentative agreement for Chinese manufacturer Chery to build small cars that Chrysler would sell in North America.
European analysts, however, said they viewed the Chrysler restructuring plan as an effort to streamline the company and make it attractive to a merger partner or for an outright sale. Chrysler said the three-year plan was expected to create $4.5 billion in financial improvements, meaning the company would earn a 2.5 percent return on sales in 2009.
As part of the plan, Chrysler said it would reduce its manufacturing capacity by 400,000 vehicles, mainly in big sport-utility vehicles, like those built at the plant in Newark, north of Wilmington, Del., and pickups, built at the factories in Warren and St. Louis.
Chrysler said it would take a restructuring charge of up to $1.3 billion. Like other Detroit companies, Chrysler was caught short when gasoline prices spiked in 2005 and 2006, accelerating a shift by consumers to more fuel-efficient vehicles. Until last fall, when it introduced new car models, about three-quarters of Chrysler's lineup was concentrated on pickups, S.U.V.'s and minivans, marking the heaviest reliance of any Detroit company on light trucks.
Chrysler's problems were compounded last year when its inventories of unsold cars and trucks swelled as much as 50 percent above the level that dealers like to keep on hand at any time during the year. On top of that, Chrysler raised eyebrows when it disclosed that it had as many as 100,000 vehicles built on spec for which it did not have dealer orders. Many of those vehicles have since been sold, but Chrysler said Wednesday it would take more steps to slim its inventory, resulting in a charge of $300 million. Asked whether he thought the manufacturing cuts would be deep enough, Mr. LaSorda said he felt they were, given that Chrysler is introducing another new wave of vehicles this year that it hopes will reverse its sales decline. Added Mr. Zetsche, "It is realistic to plan for growth and not the opposite."
-- By Micheline Maynard
The New York Times ,Thursday 15 February 2007
Past Events/Activities:
Gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver and the Nat'l Wake-Up Walmart Bus tour... Please join us in welcoming the National Wake-Up Walmart campaign to town along with Secretary of State and Gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver who will also be there to address the issues that affect hard working Americans.
United Neighbors
808 N Harrison St., Davenport
The National Wake-Up Walmart campaign is taking it's national movement on the road and has recently embarked on a bus tour hitting 19 states and 35 cities in 35 days!
Starting August 1st, for the next 840 hours, 6 over-caffeinated Americans and one really big 45-foot long bus (nicknamed Smiley) are going from New York City to Seattle to fight for good jobs, more affordable health care, and a better life for all hard-working families.
Don't miss the opportunity to get aboard the bus as it rolls into Davenport on Wednesday, August 16th, at 6pm
The fight to change Wal-Mart, is already being refered to as one of the "hottest, highest stakes political contests in America." And, our national bus tour will be no exception.
Please RSVP for Local Tour Stops at: www.wakeupwalmart.com
Working Toward Economic Justice in the QC
We started the day with a leadership planning session with Working Families Win at the offices of Communities United to Strengthen America. We discussed various economic issues such as fair trade, workers rights, a living wage, education, healthcare, corporate responsibility and the environment.
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As a group, we ascertained the need to put our thoughts on these issues into a concise statement of economic priorities/principles to present to candidates for public office; we set a deadline of May 1st to draft language for a Quad Cities statement, and to meet again at Communities United on May 6 at 1:00 PM (JOIN US).
Thank you to Dave Leshtz and Jim Jontz for their leadership on keeping these issues front and center in the public debate, and thanks to Bev Strayhall and Deb Barrymore at Communities United for their hospitality; besides providing us with goodies to eat, they also had three drawings for a $25 gas card!
The Walmart demonstration went great! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. Afterward, many of us met for lunch at the Village Inn to thank them for letting us park in their lot during the rally. Thanks to ALL of you who participated on a holiday week-end!
Please contact your state senators and the Governor, urging them to help push the Fair Share For Health Care bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.
WakeUp WalMart Activist Caroline Vernon Speaks
The Change To Win Conference - March 21, 2006
At the Change To Win Conference in Las Vegas, WakeUpWalMart.com activist Caroline Vernon discussed her involvement in the movement from June 2005 to the present:
June 2005 - Was introduced to Wake-Up Wal-Mart at our Democracy For America June Meet-Up. Both organizations teamed up to promote house parties to raise awareness about Fair Share for Health Care. The party was very fruitful and I adopted the Elmore St Wal-Mart here in Davenport, IA.
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Caroline, Jeremy Byrd, and Paul Blank of WUWM (Wakeup Walmart) speak to the assembly at the Change To Win Conference in Las Vegas. |
July 2005 - Community Demonstration in front of Wal-Mart as a direct result of the June house party.
August 2005 - I participated in the taping of a National radio ad declaring, "Why I won't buy my school supplies from Wal-Mart". The ad ran on Air America radio during the length of the Back to School campaign.
September 2005 - I met UFCW Local 431 members for the first time as we marched in the Labor Day parade. I signed up a lot of supporters for Wake-Up Wal-Mart.
October 2005 - With other citizen activists and local union members, I participated in the "Nothing is Scarier Than Not Having Health Care" Campaign by handing our flyers at the Wal-Mart I adopted. My two boys also participated by dressing up in costume since it was near Halloween; candy was given out in exchange for donations that would go toward Wal-Mart workers? health care. We received good press on this event.
November 2005 - Higher Expectations week: I organized a showing of Robert Greenwald's, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price". Over 100 people turned out! A group of Black Hawk college students also attended and video taped an interview with me about the Campaign for change.
November 2005 - I was the guest on a local radio show that was entirely about Wal-Mart. Then, on Black Friday, myself and others handed out flyers to Wal-Mart customers. People were very receptive but it was FREEEEEZING cold that day so we were only able to endure the elements for a short time but we distributed close to 100 flyers within 30 minutes.
December 2005 - I was quoted in the Dec 5th issue of USA Today, speaking as a community activist and a Leader for Change in the Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign.
Also in December, many of us distributed posters to various community centers, union halls, libraries, churches, car windows, etc., that promoted "Guess Who's Not Shopping at Wal-Mart this Christmas?"
Also, in December, I organized a 2nd showing of the Wal-Mart movie, and have continually circulated 4 DVDs of the movie according to demand. All 4 DVDs are currently being borrowed for the 2nd time around (8 additional showings among smaller groups, primarily around the Christmas holiday).
Feb 2006 - I attended a Health Care Lobby Day in Des Moines with about 50 other activists. We lobbied on 3 key pieces of legislation, including Fair Share Health Care. We found broad bi-partisan support for the bill. We lobbied our legislators once again on these 3 bills at our last legislative forum on Feb 25th (for public consumption). We taped the event and submitted it to local public access television; it has already aired once.
March 2006 - I'm starting a Local Community Group in Davenport to gather Wake-Up Wal-Mart supporters in my area.