Good luck to all involved: From Yahoo:


WARREN, Mich. - Chrysler LLC said Friday it will make another round of early retirement and buyout offers to factory workers in the Detroit area to reduce the number who are on indefinite layoff due to slumping sales.

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Employees will learn about the offers this month, company officials said during an event at a Warren factory where the automaker celebrated the launch of the new Dodge Ram pickup.

It wasn't immediately known how many workers will be eligible. Chrysler has about 45,000 hourly workers worldwide.

United Auto Workers Vice President General Holiefield said the offers are similar to past packages offered by the company, but this round has a new education option offered in conjunction with the state of Michigan.

The education options include health benefits and cash that would allow a worker to go back to school for retraining while still being able to support a family, said Al Iacobelli, vice president for employee relations.

The company may expand the offers to all of its plants in order to clear out the company's layoff rolls, Iacobelli said.

"We'll see," he said after the Ram event. "Our goal is to get everybody back to work."

At all of its factories, Chrysler has about 2,000 people on layoff, he said. He didn't know how many were on layoff in the Detroit area.

Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press said at the event that the U.S. economy probably won't improve until late 2009 or 2010. He said the economy has reached a point where bad news is coming to an end, but good news hasn't started yet.

"We're probably in this for another year, year and a half," he said.

Press said Chrysler will be ready by the time the economy improves because it has right-sized its business and has seven new models coming out by then. He would not identify the models except for a subcompact to be built in conjunction with Nissan Motor Co.

"We'll be able to rise when all boats go up with the ocean," he said.

 

What this is really about is getting rid of the high paid workers and bring in people at the new lower tier pay rate.

 

But at times with the "changing of the gaurd" A lot of things get lost in the mix, pushed into the corner, or just tittlay forgotten about. Think if the Challenger was not already in production, these layoffs/buyouts came in, and "the new guy" likes 4cyl imports, Bye bye Challenger.

 

I doubt many people in Michigan will leave because this is the same packaage that was previously offered. If they didn't take it then they won't take it now. If the offers go to St. Louis there will be a mass exodus.

 

I've seen that before, have been there, and went thru it just like Hurricane Ike. That happened at OMC -Outboard Marine Corp. makers of Evinrude and Johnson outboards motors. A privately held group came in bought the company, started to make changes. They did not know how to operate a manufacturing company. We had layoffs some people were held out of senority because of their particular jobs. Went thru negocations, company wanted to start a second tier of lower wages. Then they started shipping jobs out to other places. Then they decided to close one plant move those jobs out. Then the main plant that manufactured the engine parts. Crankshfts, Connecting rods, drive shafts if you don't have those you, you don't have a engine to sell. They asked their highly skilled workers if they would go to different locations (won't mention any cities here so not to offend those that live or work there.) to train people to do ours jobs. We were told it be about 3 months and we could fly home on weekends.

Needless to say that plan has failed. They had to file for bankruptcy and sold all of the assets. I am not bitter, recieved a serverance package, vacation, pension, and 401k. Bought a new boat with 20% employee discount. With 2 of the last engines I built, and went fishing.

PS. Bombardier bought the assets and building the Evinrude and Johnson Motors here in Wisconsin.
www.evinrude.com

 

You might be surprized in my group of 30 people it looks like 8 guys will be takeing it this time around

 

I wonder what the " is doing for these people...............right........................ ......

 

That's funny, didn't realize that you had to be a member to type the word...!?!?!?!

 

OK forget it...........................