Daimler Unions Tell Zetsche to Resist Chrysler Sale (Update2)

By Jeff Bennett |April 24 (Bloomberg) -- DaimlerChrysler AG's three biggest unions told Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche to resist selling Chrysler or reject private-equity bidders in favor of a buyer who knows the auto industry, a labor official said.

``Our preference is that he keeps Chrysler,'' Canadian Automotive Workers representative Jerry Dias said after meeting with the automaker's labor committee in Stuttgart, Germany, today. ``If they choose to spin it off, we can live with Magna,'' he said, referring to Canada's biggest auto-parts supplier.

The committee may present the unions' views to DaimlerChrysler's 20-member supervisory board on April 26, Dias said. Today's meeting involved officials of the Detroit-based United Auto Workers and the German metalworkers union IG Metall.

Magna International Inc. and three U.S. private-equity firms are among the bidders for the U.S. Chrysler unit, people familiar with the offers have said. Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. announced its $4.5 billion offer for Chrysler on April 5.

``We also told him that we are opposed to Chrysler being sold to private equity, and we are absolutely against Kirk Kerorkian's bid,'' Dias said.

UAW spokesman Roger Kerson and DaimlerChrysler spokesman Han Tjan declined to comment.

Ruediger Grube, a DaimlerChrysler management board member who oversees corporate strategy, met with potential buyers two weeks ago in New York, people familiar with the talks have said. They included Magna and private-equity firms Cerberus Capital Management LP and a Blackstone Group LP-Centerbridge Capital Partners LLC partnership.

Gettelfinger

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, a member of the supervisory board and the labor committee, pledged last week to formally ask the panel to abandon any plans to sell Chrysler. The board is evenly split between investor and labor representatives.

Zetsche on Feb. 14 said the automaker is considering all options for Chrysler's future as he announced plans to cut costs following a $1.5 billion 2006 loss. Chrysler is planning to cut 13,000 workers and close a Delaware manufacturing plant by 2010.

The U.S. shares of DaimlerChrysler fell $1.01 to $79.30 at 4:18 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They've gained 23 percent since the day before Zetsche disclosed that Chrysler may be sold nine years after being acquired.