Further cuts may come at Chrysler

Automotive News / November 13, 2006 - 1:00 am Chrysler may be laying plans to slash production further in the first quarter of 2007 as it struggles to contain bloated inventories.

"We've already got the shutdowns for November and December," Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers, said in a telephone interview last week. "We should anticipate more in the new year. We've been forewarned there will probably be some down weeks in Windsor and Brampton in the first quarter."

Meanwhile, a Tier 1 supplier to Chrysler said it expects the vehicle volumes already cut by the carmaker never will be restored.

"For our planning purposes, we're looking at the volumes they've reduced as permanent," said the supplier official, who asked not to be identified.

Chrysler cut roughly 160,000 units in the third quarter of 2006 compared with the third quarter of 2005.

The Brampton, Ontario, factory makes the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger. The Windsor plant makes the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans and the Chrysler Pacifica crossover.

"I think they may have to shut down some of the plants for weeks" in 2007, said Sean McAlinden, analyst for the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He said Chrysler may be stockpiling vehicles in anticipation of further cutbacks and vehicle changeovers.