Trevor Creed, the Senior Vice President- Design at Chrysler LLC, is retiring from the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker on August 31, 2008, the company announced on Monday.

Creed, 63,  joined Chrysler LLC in 1985 as Director- Interior Design, after leaving Ford Motor Co. and he has designed some of the Chrysler’s most memorable concept and production cars. (more…)

At the Management Briefing Seminars on Friday, Chrysler LLC’s purchasing chief John Campi spoke about new approach to dealing with the automaker’s suppliers in order to maintain good relationships.

The purchasing chief also announced the automaker’s goal to cut its supply costs by 25 percent within three years with a new approach to launch a “supplier of choice” program in which Chrysler will have not more than ten suppliers. The suppliers will become partners of the automaker in the development for vehicles they supply. (more…)

Chrysler LLC plans to build the new Jeep Grand Cherokee in 2010, as said the company’s Vice chairman Tom LaSorda on Thursday. The new vehicle will get a unibody construction, variable valve timing and a fuel-efficient V6 engine.

The automaker also said that it will spend $1.8 billion in retooling the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. The plant will produce the Jeep Grand Cherokee which will use Chrysler’s new Phoenix powertrains. 

LaSorda said, “This investment in our future products and at Jefferson North will enable the Company to produce a future generation of vehicles more efficiently, with world-class quality and an improved environmental footprint,” “Furthermore, this commitment reinforces the long-standing partnership between Chrysler LLC, the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.” (more…)

In order to reduce travel and energy expense, Chrysler LLC is on negotiating terms with United Auto Workers Union, to put all the factory employees on four-working days with ten hour shifts from a five, eight hour days shift.

The manufacturing chief of the company, Frank Ewasyshyn said that this new curriculum would certainly affect most of its plants excluding those who are already involved in overtime, like Belvidere assembly in Illinois and Sterling Heights assembly in suburban Detroit. “The remaining plants likely would qualify,” Ewasyshyn confirmed the statement at the Management Briefing Seminars. (more…)

Just two weeks after Chrysler Financial annunciate that it was exiting the auto leasing business, company’s two top executives stepped down from their individual positions.
Paul Knauss, who was the financial president and CEO of the company and William Jones, who was the COO, both declared their retirement immediately after the announcement made by the company.

Thomas Gilman will take the place of Paul Knauss as the CEO and vice chairman of the company. He has earlier served as the Chief Financial Officer of the company and was most recently a senior advisor for Cerberus, which is the private equity owner of Chrysler. (more…)

Reports say that Chrysler LLC’s Vice President of Electrical/Electronics Engineering Core, William Mattingly will leave the company and will join one of the leading auto suppliers, Lear Corporation.

Mattingly will join the Lear Corp.’s electronics division under Ray Scott. Scott is the president of Lear’s electronics division.

Lear is one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive interior systems and components. It provides complete seating systems, electronic products and electrical distribution systems. Lear’s world-class products are designed, engineered and manufactured by a specialized team of more than 90,000 efficient employees at 215 facilities in total 34 countries. (more…)

In response to tight credit and the plunging resale prices for the gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, Chrysler LLC will stop issuing new car and truck leases to its consumers through its financial arm, Chrysler Financial by the end of this month. The company has made such a move because of the weak U.S. economic conditions, that have made leasing more expensive than buying for both consumers and the company.

In the U.S., automakers have offered leases as a way of getting customers into new vehicles with attractive monthly payments. And the consumers rent those vehicles for just two or three years. After the leases expire, automakers sell them at used-car auctions at profits. But, in the recent scenario, as the value for the gas-thirsty trucks and SUVs plummets, leaving automakers with vehicles with poor value at auction once the leases expire, has ultimately compelled manufacturers like Chrysler to stitch off its lease business. (more…)

Chrysler LLC announced that it will cut about 1,000 salaried jobs by the end of September as part of its restructuring plans to survive the critical downturn in the U.S. automotive industry. Along with the 1,000 jobs, Chrysler is supposed to cut its contract work force as well.

The company has already sent a memo to employees regarding the details of reduction. The executive vice president for human resources and communications, Nancy Rae wrote in the memo, “To respond to the current market conditions, an incremental manpower reduction of 1,000 salaried employees by September 30, 2008, will be required.” (more…)

The U.S. third largest automaker, Chrysler LLC denied the bankruptcy rumor, speculated by analysts after the automaker exercised a $2 billion line of credit from Cerberus Capital Management LP and Daimler AG. Chrysler drew down a $2 billion credit line late last month from Cerberus and Daimler AG, the German car maker that sold, roughly 80 percent stake in Chrysler to Cerberus.

Cerberus Capital Management LP is a private equity firm that bought Chrysler LLC about a year ago.

Chrysler said it has plenty of cash, while denying the speculation, that Chrysler was planning to file for bankruptcy protection through the credit. (more…)

One of the Detroit Big 3, Chrysler LLC plans to idle its St. Louis South assembly plant that makes minivans and cut the production at St. Louis North plant as the U.S. sales for larger vehicles continue to fall.

Both the plants are located in Flenton, Missouri in St. Louis County. The tough decisions have been taken due to the slow sales of the larger vehicles in the market. The moves will affect a total of 2,400 employees in both the plants.

Chrysler LLC will close its St. Louis South assembly plant indefinitely, effective October 31.

The automaker’s co-president Tom LaSorda said that the plant is not likely to reopen in future. He further added, "We see no intent to rerun this plant. We’re idling it and it will likely be fully closed." (more…)