Autoblog

After months of speculation, the Chrysler sale happened without too much fanfare on Monday morning, as Cerberus came out as the top bidder, and several potential investors came away empty-handed. One of the few groups vying for control of Chrysler was its own employees, and Automotive News is reporting that those UAW members feel they never got a real chance.

Members of Toledo's Jeep plant tried to get together a bid for the beleaguered Chrysler group, but they felt as though the folks in Stuttgart and Auburn Hills stalled in order to keep the workers at bay. The members were also angered by Ron Gettlefinger's comments that the sale to Cerberus was "in the best interest of the membership" only a few weeks after stating that the UAW was opposed to any sale to a private equity group. President of the Chrysler Employee Buyout Committee (CEBC) Michele Mauder also criticized Daimler for basically paying $650 million to get out from under Chrysler's liabilities. CEBC claims that they aren't as upset by the fact that they didn't win the right to purchase Chrysler as they were that they never got a fair chance to bid.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Just last December, Ford accelerated its effort to reduce the company's white-collar workforce by 10,000 souls. Buyouts were offered with the hope that salaried employees would follow of the lead of hourly workers, who had already been offered packages. Unfortunately, in some areas of the company, workers are jumping ship faster than the company can let them.

In a move that has reportedly irked some employees, Ford has had to renege on some of its buyout offers because an overwhelming number of responses were received from certain parts of the company. Since each department needs to keep some staff on hand, reports say that Ford has been forced to exercise its option of denying the buyouts to select folks. The fact so many employees were willing to leave the company certainly doesn't say much about the current level of confidence among the rank and file. We informed you recently about the state of employee morale at the Blue Oval and we're guessing this isn't helping matters much. Just imagine how pleasant a co-worker will be if he or she has had to cancel retirement plans. They probably aren't the ones bringing in the danishes.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

In an effort to assuage the fear of his employees over the current direction of Ford Motor Company, Bill Ford sent out a company-wide memo on Friday that details a three-point strategy for ushering the Blue Oval out of hard times. The Detroit News describes the strategy in a nutshell as 1) fixing Ford's North American business, 2) leveraging the company's global assets, and 3) bolstering its leadership team from within and outside the company. Easier said than done, right?

In the memo Ford admits the business strategy that fueled Ford for decades has stopped working (i.e. a myopic reliance on trucks and truck-based SUVs). In order to achieve profitability again in North America, Ford has charged Mark Fields and his team with developing products that drive revenue and rapidly reducing costs, as any CEO should we think. Mazda and Volvo will also apparently contribute more to Ford's North American turnaround than they have in the past. Ford's last point about leadership development is already in practice, as the aforementioned Mark Fields, president of the Americas for Ford, has Bill Ford's new progressive policies to thank for his title.

Bill Ford's memo contains nothing that hasn't been suggested before, but its purpose wasn't to unveil Ford's revised "Way Forward" plan, which is due in detail later this month. The note to employees is rather an effort, we believe, to make workers at the company feel more like they're in the loop while Ford wrestles with changing his company's course.

[Source: The Detroit News]