Chrysler to Eliminate Another 1,000 Jobs by Sept. 30

Chrysler to Eliminate Another 1,000 Jobs by Sept. 30

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, the third-largest U.S.- based automaker, plans to cut an additional 1,000 salaried jobs by Sept. 30, after its first-half U.S. sales tumbled 22 percent.

The reductions will be through ``retirements, special programs and attrition,'' spokesman Dave Elshoff said today in a statement. Chrysler is taking the action because of ``an expected prolonging of the current market conditions,'' he said.

The company had 18,529 salaried workers and total employment of 63,627 as of the end of June, Elshoff said.

Chrysler's sales decline through June was the most of any major automaker and more than double the 10 percent drop industrywide. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company relies more on pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and vans than any of its bigger competitors. Sales of the light trucks have fallen as U.S. average gasoline prices have climbed above $4 a gallon.

Chrysler is 80.1 percent owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP. The company's additional reductions were reported earlier today by the Wall Street Journal.

ΒLOOMBERG