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| Home Front Economy |
| Chrysler shutters plants to avert collapse |
| 2008-12-18 |
| Hoping to avoid bankruptcy, ailing US carmaker Chrysler LLC on Friday will shut down all of its manufacturing plants for at least one month because of plummeting car sales, the company announced Wednesday. Chrysler's announcement comes after US lawmakers last week failed to agree on a 14-billion-dollar emergency loan for the US car industry. Chrysler and General Motors Corp have said they do not expect to survive without federal aid. Chrysler said its dealers are already overstocked as car sales over the past months have plunged about 35 per cent to 25-year lows in the United States. Buyers have struggled to get car loans amid a massive financial crisis that has kept banks from lending to each other and to consumers. Chrysler said the failure by consumers to get loans has had a 'dramatic impact' on the industry, costing them about 20-25 per cent in monthly sales. The plant closures, 30 in total, will 'keep production and dealer inventory aligned with US market demand,' the company said in a statement. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Two weeks is normal. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-12-18 09:50 |
| #1 Uh, don't the Big Three normally close for about 3 weeks this time of year for model changeover? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2008-12-18 09:47 |