Chrysler workers offered up to 100k to leave

Chrysler blue-collar workers to be offered up to $100,000 to leave
February 27, 2007

By TIM HIGGINS

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Chrysler Group is offering eligible U.S. hourly employees up to
$100,000 to leave as part of the company's plan to return to
profitability by next year.

The Auburn Hills-based unit of DaimlerChrysler AG plans to cut 13,000
jobs - 9,000 of which are U.S. hourly - over the next three years and
close an assembly plant in Delaware.



With the early retirement and buyout packages, Chrysler hopes to
eliminate about 4,700 U.S. hourly jobs this year, including 2,400 in
Michigan.

The company is offering an early retirement package with a lump
payment of $70,000 to those who are eligible and a buyout package with
a $100,000 lump sum payment to eligible workers with at least one year
of service, according to a letter sent to UAW locals.

The packages, which will be targeted at specific locations, will be
offered beginning in March and be on the table through the end of the
year.

"Each location will have different timing for election but separation
timing for all locations will be between April and December 2007,
depending on operational needs and the timing of the actions," a
letter to from John Franciosi, Chrysler senior vice president of
employee relations, and UAW vice president General Holiefield said.

Contact Tim Higgins at 313-222-8784 or .

 

Take it and run.

 

Jim, are you and Tim Related?

 

Not that I know of.

 

What do they do if they have a lot of equity in a home and everyone
in their town is trying to sell theirs?

Ted

 

Then, if true "equity" is defined as the difference between market value
and what is still owed, it is no longer a "lot of equity" (since the
local market became super-saturated), making the question oxymoronic.
Perhaps your question was meant to be a leading one to point to that
conclusion. To answer your question, since the local job market will
aslo be saturated, then they would be in the proverbial pickle.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

[/QUOTE]
Well I hope they keep employees enough to continue manufacturing the new
Jeep Compass.
IMO the Caliper is ugly, but the Compass is rather nice looking.
I'm not into having a Jeep, but perhaps! <

 

They can hope that Toyota opens a plant in that area.

 

Is there any other conclusion when the biggest employer in town shutters
it's doors? I notice they are being very coy about what locations they
are going to offer this package in.

On one hand I have to give them some credit - they are at least giving
the employees something better than a sharp stick in the eye.

But on the other it really seems like a lot of these folks are going to
be totally screwed. On one hand they are going to get their severance
payout eaten up by the equity loss. Then on the other the one-time payout
is going to push them into a higher tax bracket.

But the thing that I really don't understand is I recall reading about
massive
layoffs and such in the auto biz two decades ago. It certainly seems like
Detroit could have simply -not hired- people during the last 20 years and
accomplished the same workforce reduction with a lot less social pain.

Ted

 

Is there any other conclusion when the biggest employer in town shutters
it's doors? I notice they are being very coy about what locations they
are going to offer this package in.

On one hand I have to give them some credit - they are at least giving
the employees something better than a sharp stick in the eye.

But on the other it really seems like a lot of these folks are going to
be totally screwed. On one hand they are going to get their severance
payout eaten up by the equity loss. Then on the other the one-time payout
is going to push them into a higher tax bracket.

But the thing that I really don't understand is I recall reading about
massive
layoffs and such in the auto biz two decades ago. It certainly seems like
Detroit could have simply -not hired- people during the last 20 years and
accomplished the same workforce reduction with a lot less social pain.

Ted

 

Over the years, whenever there were community impacting layoffs like
this that special arrangements are made with governments. I remember
when - I think it was Philip Morris, or maybe it was IBM - had some big
layoffs 15 or so years ago, part of the package was that they not only
got the lup sum, but that they collected unemployment benefits as well.
Is it possible that special taxing exempting arrangements are also
made to leesen the burden?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Yes - I do remember people being able to both collect and their taxes for
the lump sum were taxed differently. I can't remember at what rate though.


--
"Now Phoebe Snow direct can go
from thirty-third to Buffalo.
From Broadway bright the tubes run right
Into the Road of Anthracite"
Erie - Lackawanna

 

And on the third hand, it is up to individuals to take whatever measures
ahead of time are necessary in their lives to keep things going in a
financial emergency. It's not like we are talking about people with
minimum wage jobs here who had no way of building a fallback fund of
some type - 401K or whatever. An employer and the government are not
responsible for guaranteeing a job or compensating you or me if we lose
ours. It's nice if they do, but it's not to be counted on.

Yes - in a massive layoff, the commnuity suffers, but the individuals
were responsible for creating their own safety net. Remember the
children's story of the squirrel who played all summer and didn't store
away any nuts for the winter? But I guess that goes against the modern
socialist thinking.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

I'm not arguing that the SOL autoworker isn't partly responsible for not
looking at the handwriting on the wall and getting out several years before
the boat sank.

But the managers and owners have a responsibilty also, and that is to
run the company with good management.

It also goes against the modern socialist thinking that corporate heads that
drive companies into the ground should have their golden parachutes removed.

Ted