EmploymentCrossing

 

 

Chrysler, the number three Detroit car maker, is laying off thousands of white-collar workers and slashing its spending.

 

The 83-year-old auto giant will eliminate 5,000 salaried or contract positions - 25 per cent of its salaried staff - and will resort to layoffs or firings by the end of the year if not enough people accept buyouts.

 

These cuts come one day after Chrysler announced it would eliminate a shift at one US assembly plant, and accelerate the closing of another factory, which will wipe out about 1,800 jobs. General Motors also announced it would eliminate some salaried jobs and scale back benefits for salaried employees.

 

"These are truly unimaginable times for our industry," Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli said. "We continue to be in the most difficult economic period most of us can remember."

 

The problem for Chrysler, GM and Ford is the collapse of sales in the U.S. market. Ford is believed to be in the best shape to weather the storm because of cash and other financial resources that amount to more than $30-billion dollars.

 

Sales in the US market have been disastrous this year for most auto makers, but Chrysler has sustained some of the biggest declines. Sales plunged 33 per cent last month from year-earlier levels and there are forecasts that October deliveries will also plummet.

 

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