Chrysler Idling US Plants for 30 Days

Supply to be slowed so it meets lowered demand, company says
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2008 5:05 PM CST
Chrysler Idling US Plants for 30 Days
A worker for Chrysler for the past 24 years, listens during a Chrysler rally at the Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, which won't reopen until the end of January.   (AP Photo/Madalyn Ruggiero)

Ominous news on the auto front: Chrysler will idle all its North American plants for at least 30 days beginning Friday, a move meant to realign the company's supply with plummeting demand, the Detroit News reports. Ford, meanwhile, will close 10 assembly plants for an extra week in January, the AP notes. Chrysler suffered a 28% sales slump this year, the worst among ailing automakers.

The company is in negotiations with the White House for emergency aid and has warned it may not be able to pay its bills after Jan. 1. Ford's announcement today is troubling but less dire. Because of slumping sales, the company is extending its normal two-week shutdown to three weeks at all but a handful of plants.
(More Chrysler stories.)

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