FCA Delaying Dozen Model Introductions, Redesigns Across Product Range

"So what do the Chrysler engineers working on those projects do, work slower?" Put more time into fully developing the future product, continue to develop current products etc. There's always enough work to do.

Update their resumes.

@CJinSD Most of their engineers are brand new conquest hires. FCA was tossing ridiculous money (for an engineer's salary) at anyone with any automotive experience during the past 3-4 years. Most of their seasoned engineers took the 30k for a new car + separation $$$ buyout and ran in 2007(ish).

Sergio reminds me of the last guy I remember banging the merger drum this loudly -- Jacques Nasser. He was convinced that there would end up being two automakers on each continent. Not entirely sure he was wrong.

@tresmonos That was the Cerberus reduction. An earlier reduction came when Daimler took over, and the engineers absorbed from AMC made their exit. That one may have hurt more, because the AMC engineers were used to developing models on a shoestring and short timeline, and that was a revelation to the old-line Chrysler engineers. But you can't beat Minimum Bob and Cerberus for liquidating most of what was left of Chrysler engineering.

@dtremit Sergio has done an excellent job with the company finances, especially making almost all FCA's debt unsecured, so he can juggle/sell off assets. But the bottom line is the $9.6 billion debt is NET. The total debt is over $30 billion, and he has to keep a huge cash position to make it look smaller. He's hoping to leverage that cash in a merger that transfers that debt to the new entity, with FCA stock holders (including the Agnelli holding's 31%) walking away with cash and new entity stock they can dump later.

@Lorenzo The purest approach to private equity. Buy low, cut costs regardless of consequences, sell as fast as possible before the consequences become clear. This sort of investment adds no value whatsoever, and the people who engage in it should be recognized as parasites.

@danio3834 Gives them plenty of time to sort out them Cherokee transmissions :)

@tresmonos Though the hiring frenzy of the past two or three years has slowed down, at the SAE World Congress in April, there were still companies looking for automotive engineers.

@dal Absolutely. Corporate strip mining.

GuitarSlinger is that you?

@Corey Lewis It's non sequitur enough. Maybe not angry enough.

@bball40dtw And the typing and grammar is too,,.[ correct-~~.\

@Corey Lewis There are a few posters, that were around for awhile, that are just gone now. HDC, Lie2Me, pete got banned, etc.