Thursday September 29, 2005

DaimlerChrysler cuts 8500 jobs at Mercedes

news.yahoo.com -> reuters.com :

DaimlerChrysler on Wednesday offered staff at its premium Mercedes Car Group division voluntary redundancy packages that aim to cut 8,500 jobs in Germany over 12 months. The Mercedes division employed around 105,000 staff at the end of last year, of which some 94,000 were in Germany.

The jobs move underscores German carmakers' attempts to cut manufacturing costs and boost profitability while paying the highest labor costs in the global auto industry. Mercedes profits have collapsed this year due to model changeovers, the strong euro, hefty losses at minicar brand Smart and spending to fix quality problems at crown jewel Mercedes-Benz.

- Now that is news indeed. American carmakers being in trouble, we can understand why ("trucks, SUV's & gas prices"), but Mercedes? What happened there? A quick search turns up the following :

In the past 12 months, the automaker has had three CEOs ... the situation deteriorated when Mercedes reported a $1.2 billion loss in the first quarter - and only $15 million in profits during the second. The automaker has been struggling to improve vehicle reliability and announced its largest ever recall - 1.3 million vehicles - in April.

(2005-09-29 00:31:12 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Most popular blog postings on lowem.log :

1. Singapore MRT rail network length to double by 2020
2. 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car specifications : 107hp, 24KWh lithium-ion batteries, 100-mile range
3. Live spot gold price quotes chart on COMEX
4. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
5. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 direct download link
6. Real-time live gold and silver price quotes chart on COMEX
7. Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction
8. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn

Featured articles on lowem.log :

1. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn
2. Singapore electric cars testing starts with 9 electric vehicles
3. Honda, GS Yuasa JV to make lithium-ion batteries for 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
4. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
5. 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid, 2010 Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid models confirmed
6. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
7. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced
8. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out