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Chrysler Seeks Balance Amid Sale Rumors
Chrysler last week announced it lost $1.475 billion in 2006 and said it expects losses to continue through 2007. DaimlerChrysler AG, however, earned $4.26 billion in 2006.
The news was accompanied by plans to shed 13,000 jobs, including 11,000 production workers and 2,000 salaried employees as it trims expenses and factory capacity to match declining sales. The automaker also announced the closure of one plant and layoffs at several others.
  Unsold 2006 300 sedans sit on the lot of a Chrysler-Jeep dealership in the south Denver suburb of Englewood, Colo., in this Dec. 3, 2006 file photo. DaimlerChrysler AG, which is examining options for its struggling American arm, will offer detailed financial information on the Chrysler Group on a selective basis to potential buyers, a senior company official close to the situation said Friday, Feb. 23, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file) (David Zalubowski - AP) Partnership
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• In announcing the cuts, DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche said all options are on the table for Chrysler. He would not rule out a possible sale.
As part of the restructuring, Chrysler on Friday delivered early retirement offers to eligible nonunion white collar workers as it tries to cut its salaried work force by 2,000 by 2008.
The first offer went to workers 62 and older who will have 10 or more years of service as of May 31. It includes three months' salary and a $20,000 voucher for a car or a $20,000 contribution to a retirement health care account. The workers also will get credits in a health care retirement account that ordinarily would not be given unless they were at least 60 years old and had 30 years with the company.
The second offer was made to selected employees ages 53 to 61 with 10 or more years of service as of June 30. It essentially gives them their full pension benefits and the same retiree health care benefits as a worker with 30 years of service.
Chrysler would not say how many workers received the offers. The company has 16,800 nonunion salaried workers and a total salaried work force of about 21,500.
Offers to unionized white-collar workers and to blue-collar workers will go out next week, the company said.
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Associated Press Writer Sven Gustafson in Detroit contributed to this report.
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