Chrysler may extend holiday shutdownAutomaker will extend the standard one-week closing to try and cut surplus inventory, according to report.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is planning to stop production at several auto assembly plants well after the Christmas holiday, according to a report Wednesday. The U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler (Charts) will extend the standard one-week holiday shutdown in an attempt to cut inventories back, the Wall Street Journal's online edition said, citing people familiar with the matter. The automaker reduced its inventory from 647,000 vehicles in July to 499,000 in November, but continued to struggle with a surplus. All of Chrysler's plants are scheduled to halt production for the holiday on Dec. 22, but the Dodge truck plants in St. Louis, Warren, Mich., and Newark, Del., a Jeep plant in Detroit and minivan plants in Windsor, Ontario, and St. Louis may extend the shutdown well into January, the paper said. The move follows a year of lower sales at the automaker. Chrysler is also trying to recover from a $1.5 billion loss in the third quarter. Chrysler has been offering the most aggressive incentives of the Big Three Detroit automakers this year, beating out larger rivals Ford Motor Co. (Charts) and General Motors Corp. (Charts) for discounts. |
|
