Chrysler plans Summer Shutdown?

[XDCX]

I just read that Chrysler is planning a two-week shutdown in July for all employees. I read the report twice, it appears that both the Blue Collar and the White Collar are required to take a mandatory vacation.

This could be a cost cutting effort - especially for the Blue Collar workers since a "substitute worker" has to fill-in when they're on vacation. With a forced vacation and a closed assembly plant there would be no need for a "substitute worker."

I'm not sure why they would want to force the White Collar employees to take a two week vacation. The report indicated that Chrysler was taking the action to boost productivity and efficiency.

Here's a link to the news report: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080313/ap_on_bi_ge/chrysler_shutdown

[XDCX]

The most recent set of news reports have verified that Chrysler's Summer Shut Down will affect both Salary and Hourly employees.

Certain portions of the company will remain open to support Dealer and Customer needs.

The Summer Shut Down is a first for Chrysler and most see it as another attempt to cut costs. One analyst suggested that Cerberus may be taking more drastic steps because the task of lowering costs has been more difficult than they had expected.

Here's a link to the most recent news report: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5617518.html