Not that it should come as a major shock to anyone paying attention over the last few weeks, but in a regulatory filing submitted by General Motors on Tuesday, the beleaguered automaker has admitted that it's unlikely to have acceptable deals negotiated with the either the United
After yesterday's Chrysler news regarding the first-lien holders and the U.S. Treasury coming to terms, we hope none of you thought the Pentastar had gotten off the see-saw. The latest tidbit comes from Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, but it comes via CAW head Ken Lewenza. According to Lewenza, Marchionne said that with two days left before Chrysler's got to show viability or go under, th
The April 30th deadline to reorganize looms larger by the second, and Chrysler is scrambling to make deals that could theoretically help it stave off a bankruptcy filing next week. For that to happen. Chrysler needs to get concessions from labor unions and lenders that make the financial situation palatable enough for Fiat to step in and make the automaker "financially viable" in the eyes of the President's auto industry task force. To that end, it appears that the contentious situation north of
The top dogs at Chrysler sent a letter to the Canadian Auto Workers union that essentially said that the automaker needed wage concessions of $19 per hour, or else it was Game Over. As a further way to apply pressure, Chrysler's letter frequently referenced the U.S. and Canadian governments as heavies, all of them now waiting for the CAW to provide the necessary "support."
It boils down to this: In 12 days, Chrysler's fate is likely to be sealed, one way or another. Both the United States and Canadian federal governments have told the automaker that in order to get continued funding, it must restructure dramatically. After consulting with his task force on the auto industry, President Obama made it abundantly clear at the end of March that this meant a Fiat deal needed to be in place within 30 days, otherwise it's basically curtains for Chrysler as we all know it.
After declaring that the deal GM struck with the Canadian Auto Workers union wasn't nearly good enough, Chrysler has threatened to pull out of Canada if cannot come to an agreement with the CAW by Tuesday, March 31. Making matters even more pressing is the fact that the Canadian government has set th
GM just ratified an agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union, and as soon as it did, Chrysler blasted it for being "weak." Chrysler's complaint was that the CAW didn't offer enough concessions to bring production costs into line with market realities. Now Ford has piped up in Chrysler's corner, saying "We believe the recently negotiated agreement between General Motors Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers will not keep Ford's Canadian operations competitive in today's global economy
The Canadian Auto Workers union has ratified a new contract with General Motors that should help substantially reduce the automaker's operating costs in Canada. The template of the agreement is very similar to the one reached here in the U.S. between Ford and the UAW recently.
Reuters reports that the Canadian Auto Workers leadership and General Motors Canada have agreed on a set of union concessions that, if approved by CAW members, could clear the way for both the Canadian federal and Ontario local governments to furnish the cash-starved automaker with billions more in bailout dollars. According to Reuters, the union has agr
Detroit automakers are frantically working to cut costs in an effort to stay out of bankruptcy court. A very big piece of the puzzle is labor, and leaders from the Canadian Auto Workers Union are reportedly ready and willing to make concessions. Talks are set to begin next week in advance of a February 17 deadline for the Detroit automakers to submit their viability plans to the Canadian government. The CAW would like to exchange wage concessions in return for job guarantees.
In a deal designed to assuage the tensions between General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union, GM's new car plant in Oshawa, Ontario will gain two additional models to build. The old truck plant in the same city, though, will still close sometime in 2009. Until then, the truck plant will continue to assemble hybrid versions of GM's full-size pickup trucks. The new Oshawa pla
Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers, Canada's largest in the private sector, will step down earlier than anticipated. Hargrove wasn't expected to retire until he reached the CAW's mandatory age of 65 next year. It's tough to resist the allure of cuddling with Yorkies, Bingo every Monday night, and shuffleboard to fill in those long, wistful hours recalling the glory days of torquing valve covers in Windsor, so Hargrove ha
Despite rising tensions (and a lawsuit) between General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union, the automaker may be interested in adding a new car line at its soon-to-closed truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Though that plant was originally scheduled to stay open a few more years, slumping sales of full-size truc
Hold on to your britches folks. General Motors dealings with the Canadian Auto Workers union just took another turn for the worse. GM, like every other full-line automaker selling vehicles in the United States, has been unable to move as many pickup trucks as it had hoped since the price of gas has spiked. In response to the shifting tide of vehicle sales and to slow the huge financial hemorrhaging, GM announced about eight days ago that it would be Jeremy Korzeniewski
The dust hasn't settled yet on General Motors' announcement that it will be closing an additional four plants, but the Canadian Auto Workers union is already foaming at the mouth. The CAW organized 30 trucks to block GM Canada's headquarters in response to the company's decision to close its Oshawa truck plant. The Oshawa plant produces the Chevy Silverado
Shortly after reaching an agreement with Ford, the Canadian Auto Workers union announced the rather surprising news that it had reached tentative agreements with both General Motors and Chrysler. These deals come about four months before the deadline for a deal was to be hit and stand in stark contrast to the protracted negotiations that recently took place between the Big Three and the CAW's American
When the second quarter of 2010 rolls along, 1,400 workers at General Motor's Windsor transmission factory will be out of work. The plant, which currently produces four-speed gearboxes for GM, will be phased out at the turn of the decade, with no plans to retool the facility to produce any other components. GM's Canada President, Arturo Elias, made it clear in the announcement that the decision was not a "reflection on our excellent Windsor workforce," but instead is due to a lack of available,
We've been hearing for some time now that Buzz Hargrove and the CAW didn't want to have anything to do with the two-tier wage structure or health car plans that the UAW agreed to. Before
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
