Bitter outcome of UAW contract betrayal: Chrysler to cut 12,000 more jobs

The layoff announcement underscores the catastrophic implications for auto workers of the betrayal carried out by the UAW. Not only does the new contract impose a 50 percent cut in wages and gut the benefits of newly hired workers, it signals the collaboration of the union leadership in Cerberus’ plans to hive off huge sections of Chrysler and sell the remnant to the highest bidder—reaping billions in profits for Cerberus’ Wall Street managers and wealthy investors by devastating tens of thousands of auto workers, their families and entire working class communities.

Thursday’s job cuts are in addition to the 11,000 the company announced last February. The combined total will slash the unionized workforce in the US over the next two years to around 35,000, a 41 percent reduction.

The company will discontinue four vehicle models and shut down shifts at five assembly plants—in Belvidere, Illinois; Toledo, Ohio; Brampton, Ontario; Windsor, Ontario; Jefferson North in Detroit and Sterling Heights in suburban Detroit—as well as the Mack Avenue V-6 engine plant in Detroit. Job losses will be felt as far as Austria, where contract workers build the now-cancelled Crossfire model.

Read More