Chrysler workers, dealers shaken

LaSorda asks employees to focus on recovery amid angst over sale rumors

Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News

Uncertainty about the future of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group has made already tough times even more challenging for salaried workers at Chrysler's Auburn Hills headquarters, as well as for Chrysler dealers.

Both groups are key to any Chrysler comeback, but they are growing increasingly anxious as speculation swirls about a possible sale of the automaker.

White-collar workers are being asked to pour their energy into pulling off a restructuring of the beleaguered company even as they worry about whether they'll have jobs.

Retailers wonder what the implications could be for them if Chrysler is sold, especially if the buyer turns out to be General Motors Corp., which would give GM 3,700 more dealers while it is working to shrink its body of 7,000 retailers.

Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda knows it is a difficult time for everybody. He is trying to reassure them that Chrysler's restructuring plan, which calls for slashing 13,000 jobs and steep cuts in vehicle production, will ensure the company has a future.

"Our job is very clear," LaSorda said in a letter sent to employees late Wednesday. "Our mission is to produce great cars and trucks, to take care of our customers and to restore profitability. Whatever fork in the road we may take, we first have to make sure we're on the road -- and the (restructuring plan) is that road."

In recent days, LaSorda has also spoken with field sales staff members who work with dealers, and he plans a conference call with retailers.

"There's certainly angst," said Carl Galeana, president of the Galeana Automotive Group, which has Dodge and Chrysler dealerships, including one in Warren. "There's angst of the unknown."

LaSorda explains

Dieter Zetsche, who ran Chrysler for five years before becoming CEO of DaimlerChrysler, shocked employees and the media last week when he said the German automaker is keeping all options open for Chrysler, including a possible sale.

In his letter to employees, LaSorda acknowledges the many questions raised by Zetsche's comments and the extensive news coverage that has been followed and discussed by Chrysler workers. He wrote that while legal requirements prevent him from responding to the reports, he wanted employees to keep in mind that Zetsche and DaimlerChrysler's management board "strongly endorsed" Chrysler's restructuring plan.

He also stressed that Chrysler is better positioned to rebound than at the time of its last restructuring, in 2001. The company is leaner, and has a fuller product pipeline, with 20 new and 13 refreshed models due by 2009, LaSorda wrote. Manufacturing productivity and product quality have improved. And Chrysler continues to invest in the future, including $3 billion in new powertrains.

"We are a good company with great talent, and a clearly defined plan of action," LaSorda wrote. "The best way to secure a successful future for the Chrysler Group is to focus on what we can control. Many of you may be familiar with the adage about accepting what you cannot change and taking charge of what you can control. We can learn a lot from this message."

Buyout information soon

LaSorda directly addressed one big question for workers -- what kind of buyout packages Chrysler may offer. "I can tell you that further information on the voluntary separation and early retirement programs for employees will be communicated in the next few days," he wrote.

Information for salaried workers is expected as early as Friday and soon after that for hourly employees.

For now, while some workers in Auburn Hills have described the atmosphere as business as usual, others report that little work is getting done.

"This is the most demoralizing thing I have ever experienced," said one Chrysler manager. "To be publicly raked over the coals like this is hard to swallow." Said another worker: "Nobody knows what's going on because nothing is being filtered down."

Michael Norscia, chairman of UAW Local 412's Unit 80, which represents white-collar designers in Warren, said there is a lot of anxiety. "We know we have great designers and engineers and skilled trades. We did what they asked us to do, and they are still giving us that line -- they are looking at all options."

As employees mull over their job security, they're also holding off on vehicle purchases.

At Galeana's Van Dyke Dodge, business has drastically slowed since Zetsche's comments. The dealership in Warren relies heavily on business from Chrysler workers, including those at the automaker's Warren Truck assembly plant, where Dodge Ram and Dakota pickups are built. Warren Truck will lose a shift of production, about 1,000 jobs, as part of Chrysler's restructuring.

"I do a lot of employee business, and those employees are nervous right now," Galeana said.

At Mike Riehl's Roseville Chrysler-Jeep, many potential buyers, who are also Chrysler employees, have told sales people they're waiting to decide about purchasing new wheels until they know more about what's ahead for them.

"There have been talks of buyouts," said sales manager Brian Ackerman. "We have a lot of customers who don't know if they're going to be offered one or if they'd even accept. It's causing them to hold off."

At Pro Chrysler Jeep in Denver, President John Schenden has tried to motivate his team of managers and sales people who have asked questions about Chrysler's future and its dealer body.

"I told my people, 'it's out of our control,' " Schenden said. "We have to just worry about our day-to-day business of selling cars."