Chrysler Closes ALL Its Plants
I guess the Cerberus figures they need to do something more to get Bush’s attention, given that he continues to dawdle on a bridge loan.
Chrysler announced today it will close all 30 of its manufacturing plants for a month starting Friday.
[snip]
Tighter credit markets are keeping would-be buyers away from their showrooms, Chrysler says. Dealers are unable to close sales for buyers due to a lack of financing, and estimate that 20 to 25 percent of their volume has been lost due to the credit situation.
Chrysler claims it is nearing the minimum level of cash it needs to run the company and will have trouble paying bills after the first of the year. [my emphasis]
Merry Christmas, W Scrooge, they said. Bah Humbug!! Said Mr. Bush in return.
In other shutdown news, GM will halt construction of its Flint Volt plant.
Gotta wonder if there’s a plan to RE-OPEN
How many workers = 30 chrysler plants?
anybody know?
Had about 55,000 employees. My guess is 4-to-1 plant to management ratio.
Rayne, I’m trying to clarify, but I thikn they’re shutting down HQ as well, right?
I don’t have anything on that, will have to get back with you.
My guess is that there will be a skeleton crew at HQ, figure 1/4 to 1/2 of normal staff level.
Frankly, if nobody’s there to pay the bills, they might as well file; that’s why I think somebody’s got to be there, to make it look like a going-concern.
You really think they are that inefficient? Especially after the
vultureventure capitalists at Cerebus trimmed the “fat”?You know anything about production processes? Lot of it is automated.
And by management, I mean people not actually on the line.
Only real lines I have ever been around were at Dell. They bragged about them, I was on a tour for us Engineers at Dell, so they definitely ran lean as they could. but there they were more on the 15:1, but there was a lot of human intervention required for the customization.
It was surprisingly automated at HD plant in York, PA, no idea how many backstage people there were there which is why I inquired.
Funny. Dell once asked for a quote from someone I know quite well in automation; at the time (about 6 years ago), they were using people pushing handcarts to move custom order servers through a plant.
I don’t know what came out of that RFQ process, if a competitor won the order, or if they just decided that people were less expensive than material handling systems.
Vehicle production doesn’t work that way, perhaps in part because a vehicle is too damned heavy for a hand cart. /snark
Just read an ABC report about the Chrysler announcement; that report said it would affect 46,000 UAW members. Guess my swag was pretty good at 4-to-1.
Man, I hope they get the unemployment benefits they deserve. People are going to get pissed and start thinking about throwing shoes or something.
5 states are facing “critical shortfalls” in unemployment funds. 8 states only has unemployment funds for less than 6 months, and 8 states have enough funds for a yr. But is this counting the future workers who will soon be on their rolls? 6 states have reserves for less than a yr.
http://www.scbizmag.com/content/view/98232/1/
http://archives.chicagotribune…..ntunemploy
Lordy.
That is not yet inclusive of the secondary layoffs that will now be accelerated at suppliers, right?
Yes, that’s ONLY Chrysler.
It doesn’t include my husband’s company as an equipment supplier, for example.
Gah.
F*CK.
I saw this at Bloomberg and CNBC, but they didn’t pick up this bit:
That’s code in my household for “Bend over and assume the position.”
This part in the article caught my eye:
The way I read this is that Cerberus/Chrysler LLC (meaning limited liability company, and yes, it does mean limiting the liability of a company to its actions and debt) is not prepared to say that they will ever be open for business again, so in my household, that means bend over and kiss your ass goodbye!
Quite possible; I think the degree of “impact” (don’t you LOVE that euphemism?) will depend entirely on two things:
– how bad are December sales numbers?
– does Bush manage to pull off a bridge loan package?
I’m beginning to think that Bush wants to look good, but wants to sell the Big 2.5 to China; he’ll string this along until they have no choice but to file, and he’ll say, Wow, I wish we could have made this package happen faster…
I’m increasingly of the belief that this really is about China. This is how the Chinese buy a fully developed distribution system in place. And this is why there’s been no effort to change the dealer network in any way.
I’ve been thinking along the same lines. And what a wonderful opportunity for China, to have the distribution system already in place. I wonder if they’ll bother to learn English or, if “re-training” the American workforce will involve Extension University Chinese classes.
I read an article at my neurologist’s office yesterday from Newsweek talking about the US having to borrow from China for Obama’s initiative sand what could persuade them to help US when they have a consumer base of their own and their own problems with their banks because of US?
This may be the icing on the cake for their cooperation.
I am sick to my stomach over this. It’s either China or the NAU; either way, constitutional sovereignty for the USA is dead. Thanks Neo Cons.
Merry fucking Christmas!!!
yeah and the workers have to lose a week’s pay if laid off when they file for unempl. And this a WEEK before xmas? will the execs be handing out presents to the kiddies?
Jan 19. Why midmonth? and why on a Monday?
I checked the Jan 2009 options calendar:
Looks like several calls expire the previous week:
Thurs 1/15/09: “A.M. settled index options cease trading”
Fri 1/16/09: “expiring equity, P.M. settled index options and treasury/interest rate option classes cease trading. Expiring cash-settled options cease trading at 12pm EST.”
Saturday 1/17/09: “Equity, index, cash-settled currency and treasury/interest rate option expiration date”
(footnote: “Equity LEAPS expire in January. Index LEAPS expire in December or January”)
And Monday Jan 19, 2009 is “Exchange holiday”
The calendar points back to the theory that GM and the other autos failure in January may bring good tidings to investors waiting and praying for the auto failure.
“Looks like several
callsoptions expire the previous week”Bankrupting the Big 2.5 between now and January is irrevocable.
Floating them for a month buys time.
You really have to hate America, or Obama, to want to shut them down now
Government to Cerberus:
Wow. What next.
Three days before before they go into bankruptcy Bush will ask Congress into session and say give me $350 Billion and I’ll give the autos $14 B
Bush and Paulson go to Congress with a three page proposal and get $700 Billion in emergency funds within days to avoid a financial system meltdown. Paulson hands out $350 billion to Wall Street and banks with no accountability, no requirements for how it is used, and thus with little effect.
Plantation Republicans led by Corker, Shelby and McConnell torpedo a $14 billion bridge LOAN for US automakers.
Bush says the executive branch will do it …doesn’t want to be known as Herbert Who?ver 2fer.
If Bush holds a gun to Congress’ head for the other $350 Billion, just say “no” b/c Barack needs that for an effective anti-Depression stimulus package.
Well, that would be Ford doing extended shutdown on ten major plants.
BTW, those “impacted” workers will probably get their next instructions on one of two occasions:
– filing of bankruptcy papers in 6th Circuit Court, or
– January 2nd phone call/email from management that says December car sales sucked, don’t report for another month, see-you-love-you-bye-bye.
One more reason why there has to be a skeleton crew on at HQ: somebody has to pull the numbers for the filing, and/or somebody has to pull the sales data together.
There were time during my life when a nickel, a dime, a quarter, certainly a dollar would have helped a lot. But I got along.
Being poor doesn’t suck necessarily.
It means adapting, and finding a good world despite lack of money.
Wise.
Yes, adapting is good. Finding good in the world is also a fine idea. What about the young families whose mom and/or pop just lost their jobs? What if they don’t have an Aunt Mrytle to move in with?
A lot of the grief over the non-bailout for US Automakers is fueled by the bailout of Wall Street. Maybe those families can help support Detroit and Flint families?
said like a true child of privilege
No.
I grew up poor to middle middle class.
Got educated at a midwest public university. Engineering. Law. Very little cost.
Saw the Viet Nam war up close.
Fought depression and post-war fucked-uped-ness.
Sorry for the rant. You’re a good person.
I understand where you’re coming from. Being poor isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. I’d much rather be poor than sick. Or be poor than depraved.
The ol’ saying that money doesn’t buy happiness is true. There will be a lot of people learning that lesson soon, unfortunately.
No. Said like someone who has been or is poor. You have to just make the best of what you have. Trust me, I know very well what it’s like.
Btdt too.
As for Chrysler, I want a 1979 do-over.
Sounds like were in the same boat.
And another indicator of the desperate straits of Cereberus/Chrysler LLC:
Chrysler Financial: Withdrawals imperil floorplan aid
(My bold)
If Cereberus/Chrysler LLC is worried about a piddling $60 million a day, they are down to pinching pennies and only an executive fart away from going belly up.
No real plan to re-open.
Bankruptcy before Christmas (One of the three – most likely GM). Domino effect, suppliers, dealers, Chrysler, then Ford.
5 Million people out of work before inauguration.
Thanks, Bush/Cheney!
Heck ‘uva job, George!
Honda, Toyota, etc. forced into receivership as well..along with 13 to 24 states…
National Guard will be called out to quell the riots but will not answer the phone (being out of the country on a permanent basis).
That’s why they threw out Posse Comitatus Act and brought in blooded combat troops. Better crowd control.
Tighter credit markets are keeping would-be buyers away from their showrooms, Chrysler says.
yah, and maybe it was the negative crash test ratings they got the other day too….. PT Cruiser the ONLY new small car that got a negative rating….
Thanks, Bush! NOT.
The Bush Tax Cuts really did wonders for the economy.
Mission Accomplished.
quoting Sam on West Wing:
Well, this is just bad in so many ways.
I wonder if Obama’s team is talking with the auto folks?
I need help. I don’t understand how 42 of the plantation caucus can rule. Why would something like this need more than a majority? Does everything and anything that comes before the senate need 60 votes?
No, unless the Majority party (hint, it starts with a D) wants it that way.
because reid let them off the hook by proceeding with a cloture vote he knew would lose – instead of continuing the debate until the Rs cried “uncle” because they really really didn’t want to be spending xmas in deecee.
well, that’s what the Ds could have done if they actually wanted to fight for the auto industry, and by extension the rest of the country. instead, i conclude the Ds wanted to pretend to fight without, you know, really fighting. iow, the same old kabuki we’ve seen before.
of course i don’t really know. but this is the only hypothesis i have for what we saw happen. hoping someone has a better one….
Scrooge Shelby is settin’ hisself up fer a verrry Merrry Christmas.
So this is how it ends? The automakers will announce “temporary” plant closings unless they get their bailout, and workers are sent home a week before Xmas?
I knew on December 12th 2000 we were in for a rocky ride, but I had no idea it would be this bad eight years later. Good luck, Obama.
in 2000 i figured it would take 8 years of the wanker to push the country left enough to see the light.
voila. sometimes i hate being right,
In other great news, MI’s unemployment was reported at 9.6%, based not on auto job losses, but recession-related losses (retail, construction, and so on).
When Bush and the Republicans let Detroit crash MI will be looking at 14%-18% and it will spread out from there.
I actually think that’s still low. I’d bet over 20% in quick order.
20% would definitely bring the U.S. into Depression numbers.
Ditto.
We’re already at 8.9% in Bush-reported numbers.
Technically speaking, we’ll be at 20% next week.
We went up to 9.6% today. In Bush-reported numbers, if I’m not mistaken.
Chrysler closed 4 plants in Sterling Hts, Mi and Ford closed their axle plant in Sterling Hts, Mi., just a taste of what’s to come. Sterling Heights is about 25 miles north of Detroit in Macomb county, home of the famous Reagan Democrats, even so they didn’t deserve this.
Bush isn’t going to do anything for Detroit and the U.S. auto industry. He’s too busy on his farewell tour where the corporate media is on their knees fellating the Decider. Stock up on food and ammunition.
Gosh is that
New OrleansDetroit down therehttp://www.whitehouse.gov/news…..-515h.html
Gee I sure like riding around in this airplane – where to now
Thanks MadDog and selise. (I think)
In other
shutdownshowdown news, GM will halt construction of its Flint Volt plant.Great. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now we’ve got the answer. >_
The handwriting went up with the Daimler purchase. Did they ever truly act as if they knew why they’d done it? Sure made the company cheap enough for Cerberus, though.
Sometimes there’s just no percentage in catching on (said the cow).
Just wondering …
Is there anything in the bill that didn’t pass, or the plan to use some of TARP, to keep them from closing plants if they accept the money?
The reason I ask is that about five years ago one of the 2.5 closed a plant … or couple of plants here in the US and about a week later announced that they were opening a plant or a couple of plants in China
Anyone know?
Buicks are selling like hot cakes in China — or were, until the slowdown spread to China as well.
Plants are being opened after 2+ years of construction, and the product is moving there? Why close those sites when they might well be the ones keeping the company afloat?
There was a provision that required the car czar to review expenses or sales over 100 million, which is what a plant costs (far more, actually).
But the plants in China have no effect over here–at least not yet. They’re not selling Chinese-assembled cars over here (they are selling Mexican assembled cars here). But by building and selling cars in China (and bringing some of the profit back here, which they do), it means they can survive making a loss on cars here, which is how they’ve been getting by for the last several years.
Thanks
I didn’t have enough time to be more clear, sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that they were importing cars from there to here, but that that is the kind of thing that gets in peoples craw so to speak, that they take jobs away from Americans in order to possibly break the unions and take the corporate profits from the foreign subsidiaries.
It might be keeping them afloat but in the long run how is it helping future American workers?
Nice to see you alias!
This is the first chance I’ve had to watch Schuster. Nice that he has guests that can speak with each other respectfully. Is this a pattern?
Actually, I hand it to Chrysler for ‘calling the question’.
This is a transparent action, which is more than I can say for Corker, Shelby, or Cerberus.
Sorry for the O/T Marcy … did you catch Tweety’s chat with Isikoff & Brand ?
Shit. Were they talking Blago?
You know, I really did think Isikoff did well with his damn Tamm story. BUt on tihs he’s regressing into Whitewater mode. I almost had him in remission.
And thank you for your generosity, Oh Canada!
I hope that you’ll be able to watch it later, if only to
stomp Brand’s stones into dust and then make him inhale itclarify Brand’s remarks.Brand said that “Fitz jumped the Gun before he had his Ducks in a row. He created a morass of this case instead of winnowing down to a simple, provable felonies and now he has to ask Obam to defer issuing his report so he can do what he should have done 3 weeks or 3 months ago.”
Isikoff has been waterboarded with Kool Aid … he’s trying to play nice to both sides. The only thing worse was watching Mika’s new “studied look” as she talked to Axelrod, in a clip from JoeScar’s show.
Oh and I heard that Canada is looking at a larger bailout than the announced $3.8 Billion for the Big 2.5
According to Think Progress.Org, the white collar staff get to keep their salaries. But more to the point, how to fight this. Money donated to the workers is one good way, but while it helps, the big guys still get off with little damage (unless they invested with Madoff) – how about everyone changing their banks acct. over to a credit union. Keep it local, and let the big investors suck on a dry tit. We are only a few in the larger scheme, but “bundled together” we can make a big dent. Throw in the rest of America who is tired of the same old bull shit (given that a move to the credit unions would make news, so the rest of USA would know about the plan), and the rest might well join us, on principle if nothing else.
Just idea.
Sounds like a good idea to me,probably safer too. As for the white collar workers keeping their salaries, I don’t think so, salary people were the first ones to take a hit on benefits, cola, unpaid o/t, you name it. Salary personnel will have their wages cut by just as much as the UAW personnel. Of course the grade level 17 to 27 will not take a pay cut or benefit cut, they never have.
Meeting … gotta run
Check back L8r
WTF
It’s too bad those shoes did not hit Bush in the head. A few more shoes need to be thrown at Paulson and Congress.
Spencer Ackerman on Rachel.
NPR had an interview today with a woman from Indiana who is working at a Honda plant. She talked about her hourly pay–mid teens-but no mention of benefits. Does anyone here know if American based employees of foreign automakers get health insurance or pensions from their employers? If not from the employer where do they get health insurance? Do they just pay the entire premium? Are they even in a group plan?
So, can we charge the seditionists with treason now?
FYI, Russia trying to rewrite their treason laws to take the country back to Stalinist practices of sorts…
What precisely do you think Congress could do that Paulson & Bush couldn’t undo?
I’m thinking they are trying to get people to act up so as they can turn the troops loose and push Obama aside in a “National Emergency” and run around interning everybody on their lists before they go.
I’ve been wondering if this is plan B to reach Martial Law…
Me too. I want to walk, but not while he is there.
So, how do we get all the UAW workers to DC now that they have time?
Let’s watch the global markets tonight…it will be…unfortunate.
going down anyone
It’s starting more and more to look like we’re going to get a chance to be the Greaterest Generation.
I didn’t really want that chance.
My grandmother just died a few months ago at 102 1/2…I am so glad she is not alive to witness this history…
Here’s an interesting auto history read…
http://www.kipnotes.com/Automotive.htm
Say what you will about Pat Buchanan, but he does have a way with words – John Cole of the Balloon Juice blog grab’s Pat’s latest:
Yep, we’re ripe for some Jap-bashing …
And Pat, with the xenophobia that has been his shtick for decades, would never let an opportunity pass by.
We seriously need to get on with the business of becoming energy independent. While we are doing the happy dance around the pumps with the lower prices OPEC is planning yet more production cuts and will not quit until they achieve their desired price per barrel. The record high prices this past year have done serious damage to our economy and society. It would cost the equivalent of 60 cents per gallon to charge and drive an eelctric car. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and suv’s instead had plug-in electric drivetrains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota.WE must move forward with energy independence. We have the knowledge, we have the technology, what America lacks is a plan. Jeff Wilson has a new book out that is beyond awesome. The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW. He walks you through every aspect of oil, what it is used for besides gas, our depletion of it. The worlds increased need ie 3rd world countries becoming more modernized and consuming more. He explains EVERY alternative energy source and what role they can play to replace oil. His research is backed up with hard data and even includes a time frame and proposed legislative agendas to wean America off oil. http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
He also has a VERY interesting article posted on the Better Place Blog called How Much Electricity Would It Take To Replace Gasoline you can read it at… http://planet.betterplace.com/profiles/blogs/how-much-electricity-does-it
Better Place is the company that is going to be setting up the infrastructures for supporting electric car use in San Jose, San Fransisco, Oakland as well as Hawaii. On the upper right hand side of the page.
And Robert Redford, some members of the House & Senate and environmental groups are fighting to stop the auction of Utah wilderness for drilling oil.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/….._1217.html that B/C have up for sale.
From Yves, more games from Cerberus (Tanta was surely right: that name is insultingly bold):
Emphasis on the delaying effect, no doubt.
pdaly — and a big one, or should I say bundle of them, expires the next day.
Very interesting read, that link. I note this bit excerpted in that content:
Emphasis mine. There’s where TARP could be used; Treasury “rescues” the bank(s) holding the debt in exchange for equity. Treasury does likewise with any outstanding paper on GM, then “comingles” the assets into a new venture.
Now, my 5am brain says that that could work, subject to a lenders’ conference maybe. All it would take would be an actual desire to find a solution before the separate lenders start pulling plugs. One reason it seems so clear that some gaming is going on is that the fundamental problem should be a matter of the kinds of short-term adjustments (and maybe a routine merger for Chrysler-Cerberus) that businessfolk do every day. Suddenly, though, they don’t know ass from elbow.
Meanwhile the “neo-Confederate” take on this whole thing is more and more being called what it is:
Lind, refering to the New Deal as a Second Reconstruction of the South, calls for a Third one that levels the labor market, public services, and regulatory playing field between the neo-Union (once again!) and neo-Confederacy up, as the only way to avoid ending this turn of the screw with only the gang of Corkers in the South (he doesn’t say it, but also those up-South who get compensated out of derivatives slush funds and the like) better off, and ordinary Americans everywhere much worse off.
I think I’ve figured out Bush’s plan to save the big 2.5: He’s gonna offer all the union workers jobs– in Iraq, reviving the Iraqi Automobile industry. Or serving in the Army, in a special Corps. After all, they need all those mechanics to keep the HumVees going, don’t they?
Bob in HI
Here’s more on Army officer April Gallop, the woman suing both Rumsfeld and Cheney for their failure to evacuate the Pentagon – in her own words – on what she saw and heard at the Pentagon on 9/11:
http://www.radiodujour.com/peo…..ndex.shtml
The full text of the motion filed with the court is here, and it is a MUST READ:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/….._1217.html
An extra 2 weeks over normal practice for the holidays. OH NO! They’re going under!!!! Where are all the libs gonna get their pt cruisers from?