Buzz Hargrove isn't mincing words about his opinion of Chrysler LLC's strategy. Calling the decision to send the Magnum and Pacifica models out to pasture and cut shifts and jobs at the Brampton, Ontario plant "stupid," Hargrove has said the Canadian Auto Workers aren't interested in the type of concessions the UAW recently agreed to. While the UAW is allowing new hires to be given a lower pay level, as well as taking on a health care trust fund, the CAW will be having none of that, according to Hargrove. Cuts were expected, but Chrysler's recent scaling back is more than necessary, according to Hargrove, who counters that what the company's really trying to do is reduce supply in order to drive up demand and keep prices higher. It sounds like a good way to make the automaker profitable, thinning the lineup and trimming overproduction. The problem, according to The Buzz, is that Chrysler's plan is anathema to the long union tradition of providing jobs that pay well enough to allow a solid middle class life for autoworkers. With the pay cuts, Hargrove says that autoworkers will no longer be able to afford to buy the cars they build. The recent fall of the dollar isn't helping matters, and will likely give Chrysler another point to argue when asking for concessions. The Canadian Auto Workers will begin duking it out with Detroit in July, so expect the rhetoric to become even more heated in the months to come.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
aman @ Nov 22nd 2007 3:38PM
He's got a point. I can understand the killing of the Pacifica, but the Magnum? its a well-selling car, profitable for chrysler as well. im thinking that this has more to do with the dollar than anything else.
Whitie @ Nov 22nd 2007 4:07PM
Canadian labor has been getting more and more expensive as the dollar slides. Buzz is going to have a whole lot more to gripe about the next few years as Chrysler and other OEMs shift work away from Canada.
Brian @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:46PM
"I can understand the killing of the Pacifica, but the Magnum? its a well-selling car, profitable for chrysler as well."
As of OCT month end, the Pacifica has outsold the Magnum nearly 2 to 1 (66,463 to 35,222) and both are down over 25% from last year. Yeah, the Magnum is a *great* selling car!
Additionally, it has nothing to do with the dollar. If a car is truly profitable (enough to warrant additional resources to continue) then Chrysler would never had killed it. In fact, the reason is simple. It's a low volume car, that will cost millions (if not billions) to redesign just to sell 40k a year.
Also, it does one more very obviously thing: Makes room on the assembly line for the Challenger, which is made in the same plant.
bmw @ Nov 23rd 2007 5:26PM
He makes no point. His unintended desire is for Chrysler to pull up stakes in Canada altogether. Typical union talk.
Glenn @ Nov 26th 2007 4:01AM
Challanger - there was already room in the production for it; however,
... maybe another car (or something on the plateform) is being pondered.
Sam @ Nov 22nd 2007 3:43PM
.......like Hargrove is supposed to say anything other than 'cutting production' is anything but 'stupid'. He oughta be thankful Chrysler is out from beneath Daimler.
And sales volume in a specific segment has nothing to do with profits or long-term strategy. Daimler filled so many sectors with niche cars and Hemi's, I still wonder how they even survived.
LBuzzer @ Nov 22nd 2007 3:56PM
Hargrove is just being Hargrove. He's an alarmist who realises that he's becoming more and more irrelevant, thus has to crank up the rhetoric. Problem is, it's gone past reasonable to near-communist level. He'd rather see Chrysler go under than have his empire shrink by a few thousand jobs.
Who cares if people building the cars can't afford to buy it? Think everyone at NASA can afford a shuttle? If you can't handle the current job volatility in the auto industry, find another job - it's that simple.
Unions.....
WillDaThrill @ Nov 22nd 2007 7:47PM
Hate to piss on your cornflakes, but NASA doesn't build the space shuttle. With that said, the people who built it can't afford it regardless.
geo.stewart @ Nov 23rd 2007 8:16AM
how many car builders can buy a Cadillac? a Mercedes? a BMW?
now, how many union officials can?
myronx19 @ Nov 23rd 2007 9:17AM
There was a dude at a GM plant that bought a Ford GT!!
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060616/ai_n16496275
elprogramer @ Nov 23rd 2007 3:18PM
^It's entirely possible. Electricians are highly skilled and paid accordingly. Working third shift nets you a higher shift bonus, and he probably saved/worked a ton of overtime for years.
I mean, it even says, he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, so he's not a fancy socialite on the company's dollar.
paul34 @ Nov 22nd 2007 4:04PM
Sounds like an uneducated individual. What kind of college degree does he have?
At any rate, why must a factory worker be able to afford what he/she builds? Since when was that a "right"?
Do Ferrari workers drive a F430 to work everyday? Do Rolls-Royce workers drop their kids at school in a Phantom?
Egon @ Nov 22nd 2007 4:24PM
Nice selective reading. Try this sentence again: "The problem, according to The Buzz, is that Chrysler's plan is anathema to the long union tradition of providing jobs that pay well enough to allow a solid middle class life for autoworkers."
As others have pointed out, much of this is union rhetoric at this point, but pay and job cuts aren't going to go unmentioned. So you'll probably be hearing a lot more of this as negotiations get rolling next year.
Chocolate @ Nov 22nd 2007 8:21PM
"Sounds like an uneducated individual. What kind of college degree does he have? "
The same could be asked of someone who asks such a question.
Volk @ Nov 22nd 2007 9:57PM
College degree, are you kidding? This idiot is a high school dropout. Yet he wants a middle class lifestyle for dropouts like himself. As for him, he made millions on ripping of others and destroying the North American auto industry. You can read more about this guy here: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011046
Scotty @ Nov 26th 2007 2:27PM
Good article Volk.
How ironic that good ole Basil (aka "Buzz") got his start in the auto industry by making seat cushions.
Illis Billis @ Nov 27th 2007 9:15AM
I work at chrysler and will lose my job when the shift is gone. I know that 80% of the people that work on the third shift didn't go and buy a $40,000 new car, because they knew they had no job security, and buying a house was more important than anything. But now all the people that went and bought a house have to find out how to pay the mortgage with unemployment. It's just about living and being financially stable, not about spending a year's wage on a what you're building.
Maestro1 @ Nov 22nd 2007 4:18PM
Even with cuts they are making way above minimum wage and would still be able to live a good lifestyle, albeit with some cutbacks made. But then again, that's the sacrifice you make when your employer is in trouble, the same as any other profession.
This guy is just an idiot. Chrysler will probably give incentives to employees to buy their cars like they have always done, so what's he whining for. He sounds more irrelevant to me and just wants to inflame the situation for this own benefit.
M Bell @ Nov 22nd 2007 5:07PM
It's rhetoric. Buzz is continuing a long Canadian tradition of talking extremely tough prior to negotiations, threatening to walk out if their demands are not met, then caving under pressure when the time comes to actually negotiate. Expect to see an article in the near future saying that Chrysler execs deny that they are actively looking at the possibilities of moving production from Canada to Mexico or China. They will then negotiate, the Union will agree to significant cutbacks, and Buzz will praise himself as a hero for keeping production in Canada.
And in a few years, we'll do the same dance again.
iQuack @ Nov 22nd 2007 6:07PM
Union guys must grandstand to keep the workers loyal to them--they have to talk tough.
The truth is that unions have been killing domestic auto companies for decades, and the survival of Chrysler (as well as GM and Ford) depend on releasing the choke-hold unions have had on auto manufacturers.
Unions are parasites that ultimately kill--or try to kill--their hosts.