Fiat CEO warns Chrysler unions: cut costs or we walk

[kpominville]

Source: Reuters

By Gilles Castonguay Gilles Castonguay – 1 hr 57 mins ago
MILAN (Reuters) – Fiat SpA's chief executive, facing a two-week deadline to work out a partnership with Chrysler LLC, warned the troubled U.S. carmaker's unions he would ditch the idea unless they agreed to cut labor costs.

In a clear message to U.S. and Canadian unions, Sergio Marchionne told Wednesday's Globe and Mail newspaper a deal on the partnership had only a 50-50 chance of succeeding because of lack of progress in talks with union leaders.

"Absolutely we are prepared to walk. There is no doubt in my mind," Marchionne said in an interview posted on the Toronto newspaper's website.

The Chrysler unions had to agree to match the lower labor costs of plants run by Japanese and German carmakers in the United States and Canada, he said, adding that Canadian unions were especially resistant to the idea.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090415/bs_nm/us_chrysler_fiat_6

---

Oh here it comes. The country that invented fascism and the mafia is going to show us how to really put the squeeze on working Americans.

[pberq]

1. And the race to the bottom continues - nt

[spoony]

2. Unfortunately, since this isn't

about teabagging, pirates or puppies, this escalation in the war against workers will be lost in the shuffle of fluff.

[WriteDown]

3. Nice anti-Italian rant...

Although I despise the busting of unions, leave the non-sequitors out.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. Foreigner hate is quite fashionable on DU right now.

Guess it helps people avoid looking in the mirror.

[DainBramaged]

29. And what do you do? Mind telling us? Or is getting your hands dirty verboten?

Give me a break, we don't hate Foreigners, stop with the insults and asinine rhetoric. We hate THOSE who take AMERICAN jobs. You really are clueless.

Of course, being an anonymous jerk is a privilege. Next time, lecture us on something you have a clue about.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

38. Italians are not taking American jobs. n/t

[DainBramaged]

39. Of course don't answer, keep being a dickhead

"Click" You got on my list asshole. Go try and fuck with people who believe your bullshit. Some of you anti-American anti-Union types need to go mix with your own kind elsewhere.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

40. I was already on your list.

Why the hell did you take me off?

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

4. That last comment in the original post was very insulting.

I'm Italian (from Italy, not Italian-American). We've had very strong unions in Italy since well before Italy was unified in 1860. Italy did not invent fascism or the mafia (indeed, the word 'mafia' has Arabic origin) and both ideas/institutions predate the unification of Italy.

FIAT's workers are all unionized and throughout Italy FIAT is known as a great place to work with excellent benefits and, unknown to most Americans, a lifelong job. Of course, Italian companies such as FIAT don't have to worry about legacy costs such as health care and pensions, as those are provided by the government by means of tax revenue.

I am not sure what the Canadian unions' view is or why costs would be higher in Canada, however, so I cannot speak on that. But to insinuate that FIAT is squeezing the American worker is, as we like to say, una cazzata (roughly translated: bullshit).

[dipsydoodle]

6. Sounded like "una cazzata" to me too.

The alternative would be to make the cars in Europe to USA spec's and ship them there.

[madmom]

5. Careful there........

[groundloop]

7. Italian companies such as FIAT don't have to worry about legacy costs such as health care

That's the problem, comparing US wages to others is comparing apples to bananas.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. Uh, why aren't we bailing out Ford then? n/t

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

8. Marchionne seems to have changed his tune.

I posted this in the other thread going on this subject in GD:

ZURICH (MF-Dow Jones)--The chief executive of Fiat SpA (F.MI) said Wednesday he doesn't see obstacles to closing a deal with Chrysler LLC by an April 30 deadline, adding he would do what it takes to fix the ailing U.S. car maker.

"There is not a single reason why Fiat can't close (the deal by) April 30," Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of a shareholders' meeting of UBS AG, of which he is board member.

U.S. President Barack Obama has given Chrysler until the end of the month to find a partner, or else face bankruptcy proceedings. If a final deal is reached, Marchionne is likely to seek broad authority over Chrysler's operations either as chief executive or in some other capacity, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"I'm ready to do whatever is necessary to turnaround the company," Marchionne said when asked if he would be ready to take the helm of Chrysler.

Marchionne had earlier warned that the Italian car maker could walk away from the alliance with Chrysler if American and Canadian unions don't agree to significant pay cuts at the ailing Detroit auto maker.


http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090415-711438.html

[conspirator]

11. walk you fuckers. go look for cheap labour in india nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. Uh, Fiat is pretty good to its workers, generally speaking.

And since a huge part of this deal is to give Chrysler access to Fiat's small car platform, it'd be silly to hate on it. Anyway, Fiat is already partnered with Tata for its work in emerging markets, so your comment doesn't make sense anyway. There is no either/or here.

[nashville_brook]

15. easy to do when you're not responsible for health care.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

16. And I ask again

Why don't we need to bail out ford, then? Fiat used to be a total mess. It isn't now because it's being managed competently.

[Hugin]

21. Hmm... Maybe because Timmeh's Grandpa was a VP at Ford?

His father, Peter F. Geithner, is the director of the Asia program at the Ford Foundation in New York. During the early 1980s, Peter Geithner oversaw the Ford Foundation's microfinance programs in Indonesia being developed by S. Ann Dunham-Soetoro, President Barack Obama's mother, and they met in person at least once. Timothy Geithner's mother, Deborah Moore Geithner, is a pianist and piano teacher in Larchmont, New York where his parents currently reside. Geithner's maternal grandfather, Charles F. Moore, was an adviser to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served as a vice president of Ford Motor Company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Geithner

Naw, that would indicate cronyism, nepotism and insider trading.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

25. So what? n/t

[spoony]

22. You really don't know?

We aren't "bailing out" Ford because Ford saw the shit GM and Chrysler are going through, and all the hoops they have to jump through, and decided they didn't want any of it and would try to make it on their own. They took out private lines of credit to boost their cash reserves to ride this thing out. It isn't because they're doing so well.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

24. Nonsense.

Ford is not getting a bailout because it neither needs nor wants one.

They took out private lines of credit to boost their cash reserves to ride this thing out.

That's a bit like saying that the only reason you passed a test is because you studied for it. Yes, Ford engaged in an obscure, little-known business practice, "planning ahead." GM and Chrysler asked for a bailout. It wasn't forced upon them.

[spoony]

26. Analogy fail

"That's a bit like saying that the only reason you passed a test is because you studied for it."

It's actually like avoiding a test by getting someone to call you in sick in order to buy yourself some time, because you know that summer school teachers are unfair dicks who treat the rich kids differently than they'd treat you. GM and Chrysler asked for help in avoiding bankruptcy, not help in filing for it. They asked for help saving jobs, not for help in squeezing concessions out of unions. Ford was initially going to ask for federal aid as well, but they saw what was developing and fell back on reserve cash instead.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. They HAVE reserve cash upon which they can fall back.

GM and Chrysler don't. Because they fucked up.

[spoony]

32. It's not their cash, they still needed help

Just didn't want the government's current form of "help." In any case I don't see what bringing up Ford actually proves. You can compare and contrast all day, and though I think you've done so incorrectly it still doesn't detract from the ongoing demolition of union jobs/benefits that's being forced on Chrysler via merger and GM via bankruptcy. You can say they fucked up, but that doesn't justify the mangle they're being wringed through under the guise of assistance.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

37. Bringing up Ford proves...

...that there is no condition unique to the US that makes it fundamentally impossible for an American auto manufacturer to survive. It's intended to demonstrate that mismanagement is a serious part of the problem at GM and Chrysler.

[DainBramaged]

19. Here we go, Fiat is the new God of auto manufacturers.

:eyes: Do all of you work for Senator Shelby?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

23. Fiat is a troubled company that is showing signs of growth...

...after many years of neglect and mismanagement. Maybe that constitutes God on whatever planet it is where you maintain your residence, but here on Earth we tend not to deify manufacturing conglomerates.

[jtrockville]

12. Why not start at the top?

Chrysler executives probably earn

SEVERAL HUNDRED TIMES

what their Japanese and German counterparts earn. Wouldn't that be the logical place to start cutting costs?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

14. They're talking about having a unified single management structure...

...for both companies. Marchionne did quite a bit of "streamlining" of management when he came to Fiat.

[formercia]

17. The shake-down.

At least these guys are predictable.

[DainBramaged]

18. Maybe the UAW should just walk out on the Big Three and turn the country to anarchy

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

20. Using what leverage? Your powers of persasion? N/t.

[DainBramaged]

28. Like you have a solution. I built cars, can you even change your own oil?

Stick with shit you know about instead of trying to impress us with your knowledge of the auto business.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

30. No, no. I support your plan for anarchy.

I think it's a fantastic idea and I wish you the best of luck.

[DainBramaged]

31. One last question

Do you live in America?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

34. Yes. n/t

[DainBramaged]

35. Too bad, you sure don't act like you are from around here.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

36. My apologies.

Is this more to your liking?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

45. just a helpful tip,

if you don't look like one of the people in this picture, your not a real 'Merikan.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

46. Obviously I need a better hat. n/t

[CHIMO]

33. Chrysler-Fiat alliance: Marriage of inconvenience

It's a clever deal Sergio Marchionne is trying to pull off with his "rescue" bid for Chrysler LLC.

The CEO of Fiat SPA has the backing of U.S. President Barack Obama in Fiat's proposal to take a 20 per cent stake in the 84-year-old legacy of Walter Percy Chrysler. After raising Fiat itself from the dead earlier this decade, Marchionne is widely seen as Chrysler's best bet to avoid liquidation.

Chrysler has until May 1, less than three weeks away, to cut a deal with Fiat that meets White House approval for $6 billion (U.S.) in federal bailout money.

But in the guise of a turnaround artist, Marchionne is in fact offering Fiat only as a glorified supplier to Chrysler, not its rescuing angel.

http://www.thestar.com/article/617141#

So just how is Chrysler to be saved in this deal? There is very little low hanging fruit.

Just how did Chrysler and Fiat get shoved together when Fiat is not putting anything up?

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/618360

[high density]

41. Alfa Romeo coming back to USA?

Who's going to buy that?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

42. The new ones are actually quite good.

Their quality has been improving for some time, and they no longer make the same kind of godawful crap they made up until the 90s.

[high density]

43. That's good to hear

I really like the look of the 159, though I think if it came here it would be out of my price range. :)

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

47. I used to live in the UK.

Used 159s were quite affordable, all things considered. I was going to get a 147 before I moved back. Kind of a maintenance nightmare, but I didn't need it for a daily driver anyway :-)

[TankLV]

44. Usually, when you stop making cars, walking's the end result...

or at least public transportation...