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Chrysler blocks the doors to prevent white collar exodus
Chrysler is apparently a little worried that there might be a mass exodus of executives during the transition from DaimlerChrysler "partnership of equals" to Cerberus stewardship. Because of that, they have taken the bold step of advising current employees against applying for jobs at Daimler AG or Chrysler Financial.The Detroit News obtained an internal email written to Chrysler's senior white-collar staff by Rita C. Rinner, Chrysler's manager of global staff. In the letter she advises that "Requests to interview for positions at Chrysler Financial and other Daimler units, including Mercedes-Benz USA, 'are currently not advised'."
The e-mail went out to senior Chrysler employees, but applies to all white-collar workers and their staffs. It also went out the same day Bob Nardelli was named as the new CEO of Chrysler. Did they really think the execs would be that afraid of what Nardelli had in store? Perhaps. He does have that kind of ruthlessly efficient reputation.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
J.Crew 8:36AM (8/09/2007)
Read this:
http://www.autoextremist.com/index.shtml
Every fan of the business side of the auto industry should read this ever Wednesday.
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J.Crew 8:35AM (8/09/2007)
BTW - This weeks article is all about Nardelli and why Bernhard did not take the job.
Tom 7:57PM (8/08/2007)
This is probably familiar to anyone who works for a large corporation. Translation: "We haven't decided yet who we plan to throw away, so for now, you all please stay."
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RicardoHead 8:17PM (8/08/2007)
Dear White Collar Slaves:
Here at the new Chrysler, attempts to secure gainful employment and secure your livelihood at meaningful companies 'are currently not advised'.
Instead, we advise you to stay here in a harsh environment of instability and suffer thru Home-Depot-boy's BS and A-holish attitude until we decide which of you are to be fired and spat out due to senior management failure.
Sincerely,
Rita C. Rinner, Chrysler's Manager of Global Staff
PS: And about your bonus program, you can forget it. If we bonus you, Nardelli and his senior management golfing buddies will get less of a payoff, so that idea is in the shìtter.
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Don 8:36PM (8/08/2007)
My response would be to leave the company altogether...Chrysler seems to be a sinking ship, and for them to mess with employment opportunities smacks of selfishness. People have mouths to feed and mortgages you know.
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maryellen 5:49PM (8/09/2007)
why would anyone want to work for Chrysler Financial? They are just a group of unintelligent pedestrian losers who have absolutely no idea how to run a business.. they are a large part of the problems that Chrylser has experienced overn the past several years... they seem to confuse arrogance with intelligence.
Stéphane Dumas 9:03PM (8/08/2007)
J.Crew, I saw it too and here what I read at the section "under the table" then I quoted
"Carlos Ghosn. Guess who is licking his chops at the prospect of a Bob Nardelli-led regime at the "new" Chrysler? None other than Carlos Ghosn himself. Given the way things are in this business, don't be surprised if Ghosn doesn't make a play to take Chrysler off of Cerberus' hands before this decade is out. Ghosn is hell-bent on picking off one of the Detroit Three - and Chrysler is shaping up to be the perfect target."
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F451 9:05PM (8/08/2007)
Well, this gives Nardelli the opportunity to request that each exec level personnel bends over and grabs their ankles to become personally acquainted with his management style.
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Gardiner Westbound 9:11PM (8/08/2007)
Nardelli knows nothing about cars and the people who do are fleeing. It doesn't look good for Chrysler.
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Rob 9:37PM (8/08/2007)
Say what you want, Nardelli doubled the profits at Home Depot in 5 years. Cerberus and him are going to gut positions from white collar to blue. They're going to move so many overpaid factory worker jobs to Mexico it won't be funny. The UAW can keep on striking and demand more pay and benefits but eventually they wont have a job to bitch about.
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F451 9:59PM (8/08/2007)
It is easy to "gut" jobs, very easy. But, I place that under the "efficiency category." It is the "effectiveness category" that matters in the long run. How "effective" will Chrysler be as a "vehicle" company? That's where Cerberus, and Nardelli fall short, in fact, as if they both want to "short" Chrysler, take what they can, and run!
Rob 11:25PM (8/08/2007)
He new nothing about retail when he took over HD, seemed to work out. I see a real possablility of them trimming the fat of Chrysler, making it an appealing company to another brand and selling it for a nice margin since Cerberus got a bargin on it. The CEO doesnt have to know squat about cars.
the friendly grizzly 4:21AM (8/09/2007)
Yeah! By George, he doubled those profits! It hardly matters that the store with knowledgeable employees are now understaffed, and mostly with drones. It hardly matters it has become the Wal-Mart of hardware, with almost all Chinese junk. It hardly matters that the Lowe's across the street is picking up business. He brought short-term gains and that is ALL the matters. The fact that in 5 to 7 years, the last door of the last HD will close is beside the point. He's a real hero to the quarterly P&L crowd.
Jared 8:56AM (8/09/2007)
I used to be a loyal customer of Home Depot. After Nardelli took over, customer service plummeted. Thank goodness for me, a Lowe's opened up in town. At Lowe's, I can actually find an employee and the employees are actually helpful. I have not set foot in Home Depot since.
That's what Nardelli did at Home Depot. That's what Nardelli will do at Lowes -- crush employee morale.
CR 1:50AM (8/09/2007)
The job future in Auburn Hills does not look so bright, maybe people should go to Farmington Hills to look for jobs. The alternative is to try to get a job across the street at VW/ Audi / Bentley. Though there is Bogwarner or maybe just drive to the RenCen.
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CR 1:49AM (8/09/2007)
Dialmer or Mercedes-Benz is spending a billion euros (or 1.26 billion dollars) of profit to up grade the quality of the cars that they build. You can see the quality in all the current lines that they have put out recently...but they need a new SL to come out sooner than later. Thats how a car company should be run, up grade quality with profits. In my very limited knowledge of the situation I would place bets that Chrysler will be back to cheap junk cars like in the 1980's ( or is it 2000's). Chryslers will tumble.
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JDL 7:44AM (8/09/2007)
That's interesting, because the Cerberus people are calling media and other professionals in the industry to be free headhunters, asking them for suggestions on who they should talk with/hire away from other companies in the automotive world.
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Jared 7:51AM (8/09/2007)
Too little, too late.
Chrylser employees know that Nardelli is going to manage like Jack Welch. Welch was known within GE as "Neutron Jack" -- when he was done "restructuring" a plant, the buildings were still standing but all the people were gone.
Nardelli will do the same thing at Chrysler -- start with huge layoffs. So the employees who are any good have already started shopping their resumes around Detroit. The only people that will remain are those not good enough to get a job elsewhere, or those too close to retirement to risk their pension.
When Cerberus took over and talked about putting Wolfgang in charge, I thought Chrysler might have a chance. But with this one personnel choice, it is clear that Chrysler is done for. It's all over.
The car business is about product -- you need inspired design, excellent interiors, and good reliability in order to sell cars these days. Nardelli knows nothing more than cutting costs, which he will do ruthlessly. He'll get the costs down and accounting systems in place, but he wouldn't know a good design if it bit him in the nose.
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Mallory 10:36AM (8/09/2007)
The current stars see the Nardelli train wreck coming and obviously want to bail before it's too late. This does not bode well for Chrysler and is very telling about what they think of their new "leader".
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jw 11:13AM (8/09/2007)
hell i would let the current management walk...they are incompetent assholes anyway...new products and new blood...thats the future...
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