The AP got a hold of an internal email sent to all Chrysler employees informing them in no uncertain terms that they will be taking a vacation from July 7 through July 21. While some kind of plant shutdown is apparently common for most automakers during the summer, this corporate-wide stoppage will also include salaried employees, with the exception of a few teams that will stick around to work on special projects. A Chrysler spokesperson didn't divulge any hard details about the reason for the temporary shutdown, other to say that it should help "boost productivity and efficiency." [Source: AP]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Random Task @ Mar 13th 2008 1:16PM
Turn out the lights, the party's over....
mike @ Mar 13th 2008 1:16PM
While from 7th to 21st maybe just two weeks, i think it will hurt a lot of people, Those who live paycheck to paycheck will really suffer. Two weeks is basically a months rent.........and in those two weeks either credit card bill or rent/mortgage bill will come.
What i have to question is this, how much will Chrysler save in two weeks? Is that sume worth the employee loyalty. The more i work the more i think that employer-employee loyalty is very very important.
Think about it, how many of you worked after 5 PM? Many do not mind getting a little extra work done after hours, just to do a good job. But if employer will treat people the way Chrysler wants.....these people will not stay after, will not do anything that is not their direct responcibility, will not do anything they are not payed for,.......will not go that extra mile.
Seoultrain @ Mar 13th 2008 1:19PM
If you work for Chrysler, you better not be living paycheck to paycheck. That's just silly.
sw @ Mar 13th 2008 1:35PM
Employer-employee relationships are anything but loyal. Basically employers usually want the most work done for the least amount of pay and workers usually want the opposite. Work is basically exchanging a service for you skill and time, and that's what it's boiling down to, especially in the workplace today. Gone are the days when you'd start out of high school or college and then get a nice watch when you retired. I'm 27 and have had 11 different jobs already.
Jim @ Mar 13th 2008 1:38PM
"While from 7th to 21st maybe just two weeks, i think it will hurt a lot of people, Those who live paycheck to paycheck will really suffer."
SALARIED is the key word. They still get paid.
most of the actual hourly workers are UAW, so they get paid too.
Besides, July plant shutdowns are normal for the detroit 3. CLLC is just extending it to salaried employees.
Cripes, some people spare no effort looking for doom-and-gloom. I just saw the CNN bit about this, and they made it sound like the company was closing up shop. Morons.
Seoultrain @ Mar 13th 2008 1:17PM
This is proof that Chrysler is run by 4th graders. Yippee for summer vacation!
Astro @ Mar 13th 2008 3:37PM
quite normal in Europe for long Vacations. Its us Americans who get worked to death
Colin Smith @ Mar 13th 2008 1:27PM
If its a vacation then surely it is paid. Which would mean an extra long holiday - which is good, no?
Or do they mean a lay-off?
Is it legal to stand workers down without warning and without pay, I mean, won't they riot?
Chris @ Mar 13th 2008 1:32PM
I don't understand the doom and gloom. The auto two have done similar. In fact there are usually mandatory shutdown/vacations built into the schedule.
By giving this much warning the workers should have time to accommodate it, let alone the suppliers and their employees.
Hey if taking hard steps is what it takes to survive they damn well better be doing it. At least an investment group has a vested interest in keeping Chrysler alive, unlike those previous execs to include mercedes benz who just raped the company
Car Designer @ Mar 13th 2008 1:30PM
this is very common. GM also does a similar 4th of july shutdown in which some people must take two weeks, while most must take one week. Except for the official paid holiday on the fourth, one must use vacation days for the remaining days of shutdown, or simply not get paid. It provides a window of time to upgrade facilities, prepare for model changes in plants, and is very pleasant considering everyone is off at the same time, meaning everyone starts gettingmore relaxed leading into it, there is no guilt of taking a vacation in the middle of a project etc.
tbss_in_the_D @ Mar 13th 2008 1:33PM
Very well put.
Colin Smith @ Mar 13th 2008 1:43PM
Thanks or the clarification. But it does seem as if the workers have to take their vacation when the Company dictates, and not when they want it. Still, if they are paid an above average wage, as autoworkers usually were, then I can see the sense.
RRL @ Mar 13th 2008 1:57PM
They will save a TON on paying contractors though.
Car Designer @ Mar 13th 2008 2:10PM
even as a beginning employee you usually get about 10 paid vac. days (in addition to about 18-20 paid holiday days) , so using 4 is not terrible. If it is 9, ok, a little more irritating. But speaking from experience, working at a car company is like attending high school...we get most every holiday off paid, and really shouldn't complain considering the oppurtunities for overtime for some workers etc. Once you put a few years in, it is very common for people to have 20 days of vacation available or more, so....
Tim @ Mar 13th 2008 2:20PM
You are right. GM has been practicing this for years. One of the main reasons is to save expenses - such as air conditioning the buildings. They save a ton of money on energy costs since they don't have to cool the buildings during two weeks of the hottest weeks of the summer. I used to work in one of the office buildings and I cannot remember how much they say they save in energy but it is a LOT.
Roanoke @ Mar 13th 2008 1:32PM
Seriously, the're just making employees take vacation when the plants are down. Thats all. This avoids having to pay a bunch of folks just sitting around a plant that isn't producing anything.
GM and Ford (probably every other manufacturer as well) have practiced this for years. Not really a story here.
Schmeltz @ Mar 13th 2008 1:44PM
Perhaps this "vacation" is welcomed by a lot of people, and moreover, would occur anyhow even if it wasn't considered mandatory. Locally to me, there is a very large Kitchen Cabinet making company that makes mandatory vacation the whole week of July 4th. This was started several years ago due to the consistent and mass vacation times being requested during that week. It seemed almost everyone was taking off that week, so they just "planned for it" and shut the plant down for a week. This Company wide shut-down at Chrysler could be nothing more than something like I just mentioned. It can make for a good morale booster for everyone, a chance to re-charge the batteries. I've heard that in countries such as Germany, Summer shut-downs are a fairly frequent occurrence. It provides for a controlled shot in the arm for the economy as it presents a mass flux of people taking off at the same time, taking vacations and spending money.
Some have suggested that this means the doors will be locked with Chapter 13 signs on the windows when the workers return on the 22nd. I don't think that will be the case. There are a lot less elaborate ways to shutter a Company then this method.
tanooki2003 @ Mar 13th 2008 1:48PM
More like the management needs to take a mandatory Permanent vacation.
FThorn @ Mar 13th 2008 1:52PM
Uh, many auto industry and related plants shut down in July for two weeks or so.. You guys KNEW to this whole AUTO STUFF?
Alan44 @ Mar 13th 2008 1:53PM
When I worked in a union factory in Chicago, we had a manditory vacation time when they shut down the whole place. You did not have a vacation choice. Lots of manufactoring plants work like this.