Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne said Thursday he "has no plans on my desk" to reverse a decision to close the company's Sterling Heights assembly plant by the end of 2010, putting about 1,300 employees out of work.
Hundreds of those workers and their families rallied last Friday in front of the plant, urging Marchionne to reconsider their future. Chrysler cut about 35,000 jobs in the two years leading to its April 30 filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Marchionne said he dropped the idea two weeks ago of freshening the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, the two weak-selling midsize sedans Sterling Heights workers make. Marchionne took control of Chrysler June 10 when a taxpayer-funded sale of Chrysler's most competitive assets closed.
He met Thursday in Auburn Hills with Claudio Scajola, Italy's Economy and Development Minister, and journalists.
U.S. sales of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles fell 42% in September from a year earlier. Through the first 9 months of this year, sales of the Sebring and Avenger are down 72% and 49%, respectively, from the year-ago period.
Earlier this week, Marchionne said Fiat, which gained a 20% stake of Chrysler without paying cash, will invest $215 million in an Italian factory it bought at auction from bankrupt coach builder Bertone.
Next year, Chrysler's agreement with Magna Steyr, for production of Chrysler 300C sedans and Jeep Grand Cherokees in Graz, Austria, expires. Fiat will transfer that production to the former Bertone factory in Italy. Those vehicles are sold in Europe.
Despite Chrysler's anemic sales, Marchionne said the company is "not bleeding like people think we are."
Fiat will report its results for the third quarter on Oct. 21.
Marchionne called the cash-for-clunkers incentive, which drove purchases in August, a disturbance.
Friday, October 2, 2009
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