Marchionne: Chrysler Has "Other Options" Beyond Canada

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

With the CAW’s strike deadline looming, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is taking a harder line in the media, pushing his vision of a profit-sharing agreement between Chrysler and the CAW, while boldly stating what everyone knows, but is afraid to say; auto makers have “other options” when it comes to building cars.

Chrysler, in particular, has plenty of unused capacity in Europe, thanks to slow sales of brands like Fiat and Alfa Romeo. On paper, the underutilized European plants could fill in for Canadian factories should things go south, though the logistical realities are much more complex.

Marchionne, along with other automakers, are said to have been pushing for a Canadian labor contract similar to the 2011 agreement between the auto makers and the UAW; labor costs in Canada would be brought to the same level as American plants via a two-tier wage system (with new hires making about 50 percent less than current employees) and a profit-sharing system would replace guaranteed wage hikes. One source at a Big Three automaker told TTAC that the unions are apprehensive regarding profit-sharing, due to fears that a vehicle could flop due to factors beyond their control (such as a botched marketing campaign or a similar screw-up), causing them to lose out on the bonuses.

Speaking to The Globe and Mail, Marchionne was adamant in presenting his proposal as the most equitable solution

“People have got to get it through their heads that I’m not Mr. Scrooge here,” he said…I’ve got to run the business and the business says that, if I do well, I’m willing to distribute that wealth…I cannot institutionalize and guarantee you that wealth.”

Chrysler is looking to add a paint shop to their assembly plant in Bramalea, Ontario, where the full-size LX cars are built. The $400-million investment would add another decade to the plant’s lifespan while adding 1,000 new jobs, but Marchionne is hesitant to invest in the plant given the current climate

“You need to deal with the question of the disparity of the Canadian manufacturing environment and the American one,” Mr. Marchionne said. The question is: Do you commit capital when your overall [cost] structure is higher than it is in the best alternative, which is the U.S.”

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Mikey Mikey on Sep 10, 2012

    @oboy....Dalton and company, are writing the back to work legislation for the teachers. How long do you think Ontario could survive a prolonged auto strike?

    • See 1 previous
    • Gosteelerz Gosteelerz on Sep 10, 2012

      I wanna throw a shoe at Dalton.

  • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Sep 10, 2012

    400 mil is a huge investment, there are plenty of other options for Chrysler Fiat, throw that money at a plant in the US, or Mexico for that matter, and as stated, Fiat has plenty of un used capacity.

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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