Dealer says Chrysler plans to significantly reduce its products, dealerships
SAN FRANCISCO — Chrysler LLC President Jim Press said Friday that the automaker’s rejuvenation plan could include jettisoning some dealers and cutting its product lineup by as much as half.
Press, speaking to industry executives at the J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Roundtable in San Francisco, emphasized that Chrysler’s management team has not yet decided the severity of the cuts. Chrysler needs to pare down its lineup so similar models don’t compete against one another, a change that will save marketing expenses and help dealers become more profitable, Press said.
The consolidation, under a plan called Project Genesis to align the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands under one roof, should occur within the next four to five years, Press said, adding that Chrysler’s forecasts of product cuts are based on estimates and not set in stone.
"There are no numbers. We don’t know how many models we’re going to have. No one knows that," he said.
A Chrysler dealer in Texas said Friday that the automaker has told dealers it could cut its number of models by as much as half, and reduce the number of dealerships selling its cars by as much as a third in an effort to boost efficiency free credit report and score.
"I think they’re trying to get a little leaner, a little more efficient," said Alan Helfman, vice president of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston.
Chrysler is undergoing a restructuring after private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP bought a majority stake in the automaker last summer. In November, the automaker said it planned to cut up to 11,000 jobs.
The cuts came in addition to 13,000 layoffs Chrysler announced last February. Those cuts include reducing 1,935 jobs at Chrysler’s two assembly plants in Fenton.
Filed under: legal by Specialist