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Chrysler to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs

DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC said Thursday it plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs, or up to 15 percent of its workforce, as part of an effort to slash costs and match slowing demand for some vehicles, according to the Associated Press.

The automaker will cut 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs and 2,100 salaried jobs through 2008. The company already had begun cutting 1,100 temporary workers Wednesday. It will eliminate shifts at five North American assembly plants and cut four vehicle models from its lineup.

The cuts come in addition to the 13,000 layoffs Chrysler announced in February as part of a massive restructuring plan. Those cuts included 11,000 production jobs and 2,000 salaried jobs. The new round of cuts was expected to involve buyouts or early retirement packages similar to those made in February.

Chrysler officials said falling demand for vehicles in the U.S. market made the cuts necessary. Chrysler's sales were down 3 percent in the first nine months of this year, according to Autodata Corp., and the company said it expects sluggish sales to continue in 2008.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:47 AM to Chrysler | Permalink | Comments 0

Toyota retunes Corolla as techier and edgier

LAS VEGAS — The world's all-time best-selling car is going high-tech, according to USA Today.

Toyota says the all-new Corolla compact will become the smallest non-luxury car with XM satellite navigation for real-time traffic information when it goes on sale in February. Until now, the feature in Toyotas has only shown up in the Lexus division.

The 2009 Corolla and its sister, the five-door Matrix hatchback, sport a slightly edgier look. Corolla is a couple of inches wider, an inch lower and has available 17-inch alloy wheels, up from 16 inches on the previous version.

"It gives it more of a European flavor," says Tim Morrison, corporate marketing manager for Toyota who unveiled the two models here at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show, the industry's premier aftermarket products exhibition.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:31 AM to Shows , Toyota | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil prices go over $96 a barrel

LONDON - Oil surged to a new record high beyond $96 a barrel after a sharp decline in U.S. crude stocks stoked supply concerns and the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates, according to Reuters.

Oil dealers saw little standing in the way of the price blasting into triple digits.

"The market has its eyes on $100 a barrel and it really is the momentum that will carry it through," Rob Laughlin of MF Global said.

U.S. oil rose as high as $96.24 a barrel before pulling back to $95.18, up 65 cents, by 8:27 a.m. EDT. Brent crude also struck a record $91.71 before retreating to $91.10, for a gain of 47 cents.

Oil soared on Wednesday after U.S. refiners drained 3.9 million barrels of crude from storage, mostly from tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma -- delivery point for the NYMEX oil contract.

U.S. crude closed in on an inflation-adjusted high of $101.70 hit in 1980.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:27 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0