Chrysler town and country

Chrysler Financial plans 350 layoffs Chrysler Financial announced today it is laying off about 9 percent of its global work force of 3,900, or about 350 workers, as part of a necessary restructuring to bring expenses in line with expected revenue.
The biggest hit in the U.S. is the closing of a Kansas City customer center Aug. 31, affecting 240 employees. The work will be transferred to centers in Philadelphia and Dallas, said spokeswoman Amber Gowen. The actions, which take effect immediately, include consolidation of the review and approval of consumer loans. This retail credit work, currently done at eight regional business centers, will all be handled at the Great Lakes Business Center in Auburn Hills. With a further 110 workers being let go and others deployed to other areas of the business, it is impossible to say if the Auburn Hills facility will gain employees, Gowen said. "While these were difficult decisions to make, they are necessary in light of our declining portfolio," said Chief Executive Tom Gilman. "We have made every effort to limit the number of job losses and to ensure the affected employees are treated fairly." Operations were already suffering from declining vehicle sales and a continued tight capital market when the final blow fell: the loss of Chrysler business when the government-mandated bankruptcy of the automaker included the announcement that GMAC LLC would taker over as the financing arm of the new Chrysler Group LLC formed with Fiat SpA.

Chrysler Financial lost its business with Chrysler dealers, known as floor-plan financing, as well as Chrysler vehicle leasing. The company, now 100 percent owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, continues to operate as an independent lender. Services include dealership insurance and standard rate financing. Any dealer can offer an independent Chrysler Financial loan to a car buyer. Chrysler Financial also continues to service its $45 billion portfolio of business from the leases and loans it provided before Chrysler filed for bankruptcy April 30, but that business will continue to dwindle as the terms of the loans and leases end over the next few years.
Chrysler Financial had applied to become an industrial bank holding corporation and become eligible for federal funding, but after a lengthy wait for approval, the application was withdrawn, Gowen said.

The company is headquartered in Farmington Hills. Gowen said the company is evaluating whether to get into nonauto lending in the future.

Attention, Second Circuit: Experts say Chrysler bankruptcy could be a terrible precedent By: Michael Barone Senior Political Analyst 06/30/09 4:42 PM EDT Bankruptcy experts Mark Roe and David Skeel, law professors at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, have written a paper assessing the Chrysler bankruptcy very negatively.

Outcome of Appeal by Lenders Could Also Affect GM’s Plans TOOLBOX Resize Print E-mail CO

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Hawes, a Gainesville Chrysler dealer for 50 years, died Monday at 89 after an extended illness. | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL

UPDATED: 6:31 pm CDT June 30, RAYTOWN, Mo. — Everything had to go at two Chrysler dealerships in Raytown — including the computers, the desks and 100 jobs. The only thing you couldn’t buy at auction on Tuesday was a car. Items that dealership owners paid hundreds of dollars for sold for pocket change at the Raytown Dodge and Crawford Jeep dealerships. "We came looking for office stuff,” said Laurie Schinabargar, who was attending one of the auctions. “We own a dealership, too.

By KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON , 06.30.09, 06:30 PM EDT DETROIT — Chrysler’s former financial arm said Tuesday that it will reduce its work force by 9 percent, or more than 300 employees, as it restructures operations after losing its preferred lender status with the automaker.
GMAC ( GJM - news - people ) Financial Services is now Chrysler’s leading lender for financing Chrysler vehicle purchases and dealer inventories, a move prompted by President Barack Obama’s auto task force.

Article Controls email reprint newsletter comments share del.icio.us Digg It! yahoo Facebook Twitter rss From the beginning of the 2008 fourth quarter, Farmington Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler Financial - which is separate from Chrysler Group - provided loans for about 62 percent of Chrysler dealers and about 50 percent of its customers.
Privately held Chrysler Financial is owned by Cerberus Capital Management. The company said Chrysler’s switch to GMAC, tight capital markets and a continued decline in auto sales have hurt the company’s business portfolio, leading to the work force reductions, said the company in a statement.

Chrysler Financial employs about 3,400 people. The cuts will occur at the company’s headquarters and eight business centers. A customer service center in Overland Park, Kansas will close Aug. 31. The company’s retail credit acquisition activities will be consolidated into a business center in Auburn Hills, Michigan. "While these were difficult decisions to make, they are necessary in light of our declining portfolio," said Chrysler Financial Chairman and CEO Tom Gilman, in a written statement. "We have made every effort to limit the number of job losses and to ensure the affected employees are treated fairly." Read All Comments This is the second time in recent months Chrysler Financial has cut its work force.
In March, the company eliminated 80 people. According to Chrysler bankruptcy court filings, the level of financing provided by Chrysler Financial began to tumble in October 2008. Chrysler Financial received a $1.5 billion loan from the bank bailout program in January and said it would use the money to provide low-rate financing to more car buyers. Although Chrysler Financial blamed its current employee reductions partly on GMAC taking over most of Chrysler’s financing, it stopped financing dealer inventories in May after Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy protection.

Chrysler had to scramble to find a new source of funding for its dealers. GMAC is allowed to provide showroom financing to Chrysler dealers and has the right to exclusively offer certain discounted financing rates to Chrysler customers. Chrysler Financial said it would continue to offer dealership insurance and financial products to consumers. It has a loan portfolio of $45 billion.

Speech-enabled by ReadSpeaker , get it free on your site! Recipient email: Your email: Message: The Chrysler minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario has reopened and the workers on two shifts are back on the job.
The third shift returns in July.

Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:32pm EDT Email | Print | | Reprints | Single Page DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler Financial will cut about 350 jobs and close a customer service center near Kansas City due to tight credit and weak car sales, the financial services firm said on Tuesday.
The firm, which is fully owned by Cerberus Capital Management, said the job cuts would reduce its workforce by about 9 percent. Chrysler Financial said it would close a customer call center in Overland Park, Kansas, at the end of August and cut jobs in other business units and at its headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

As part of the U.S. government-sponsored restructuring of Chrysler and General Motors Corp (GMGMQ.PK ), GMAC is taking over responsibility for providing loans to finance inventory for Chrysler dealers from Chrysler Financial.
GMAC has also taken over the financing of the low-interest loans used by Chrysler to move slower-selling inventory. The changes leave Chrysler Financial with a reduced scope of operations. The firm continues to offer insurance to car dealerships and alternative financing for consumers purchasing new vehicles. Chrysler Financial will also service its existing loan portfolio of about $45 billion. Cerberus had been the owner of both Chrysler and Chrysler Financial. The No. 3 U.S. automaker was put through bankruptcy with financing from the U.S. government and is now majority-owned by a trust fund aligned with the United Auto Workers union.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 Share Comments Georgia (default) Verdana Times New Roman Arial Font | Size: (06-30) 16:11 PDT DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler’s former financial arm said Tuesday that it will reduce its work force by about 9 percent, or more than 300 employees, as it restructures operations after losing its preferred lender status with the automaker.