For sale: Way cheap
By JOSEPH SZCZESNY Press Automotive Editor
An item offering the Chrysler Group for sale was posted, in jest, on eBay, the Internet auction site that's home to the world's largest continuous garage sale. The acid-tinged posting, however, also sheds light on the disintegration of employee morale inside Chrysler ever since it was disclosed that DaimlerChrysler AG was willing to put its American unit up for sale. Strong morale customarily has been one of the prized intangible assets at Chrysler, which has weathered its share of crises over the years.
"This auction is for the works, Chrysler with everything we couldn't take back to Germany. It has it all, the employees, the headquarters, the pension plan we raided, and the empty bank accounts we drained," the listing reads.
"Please note, a bond will be required to satisfy the US government for pension obligations, but not to worry, we have judges standing by in the Republican bankruptcy court system to absolve you of any and all liabilities. You can skate for free.
"Not to worry my bidder friends, there is still some blood to drain out of the ol corpse. Just be careful and tell the employees and government officials you did the best you could, and then retire to Florida in luxury. Kenny Lay would have been proud," the eBay posting says.
"Just make sure your bond is good and contact me, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, and have the money sent to my Swiss Bank account in untraceable bills. Remember, you are bidding on a used car company, sold as is where is with no refunds," it continued.
The posting appeared to refl ect the view that's common around the company's headquarters and technical center in Auburn Hills.
"I work at Chrysler and am one of many who felt all along that Daimler was going to rape and pillage us as they are now," said an employee in an e-mail to The Oakland Press who asked for anonymity. "I will be without a job soon enough and don't appreciate what Daimler is doing to us."
Meanwhile, union dissidents Wednesday also labeled the effort to put Chrysler Group up for auction as a ploy to force the United Auto Workers to give concessions.
"The company alleged huge business losses and threats from competition so severe that (Daimler-Chrysler) might have to sell off the Chrysler Group to the highest bidder - unless, of course, workers give back large concessions in the coming contract negotiations," said a posting on
"DaimlerChrysler is copying, in a more obviously staged way, the past maneuvers of GM and Ford against their workers.
"First, hide the company's true financial condition. Second, fill the media with dire prophecies of gloom about the company's future. Third, announce plant closings and layoffs 'expected' some time in the future. Fourth, offer the workers 'buyouts' packaged to look like their best available option. Fifth, after the buyouts have been taken - return to business as usual but with a cheaper workforce," the posting added.
Outside analysts are now suggesting DaimlerChrysler management's decision to announce publicly that Chrysler was for sale had more to do with pushing the union into concessions than it did with obtaining an equitable price for the Auburn-Hills based unit.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has said the union was unmoved by complaints from Daimler Chrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche, who has claimed the UAW had acted "irrationally" when it refused to accept changes in health care plans first negotiated in 2003.
The group's request for concessions, which could save the company as much as $340 million annually, is still pending.
However, morale in Auburn Hills has begun to decline as the realization that Zetsche's once-unwavering support for the Chrysler Group has begun to buckle, Chrysler officials admit.
The fate of the company is now basically in the hands of the company's German high command in Stuttgart, which appears to be calling all of the shots, including the recent discussions with General Motors Corp., they added.
However, GM officials have indicated privately that so far there is less substance to the discussions than some accounts have suggested.
Gettelfinger, a new member of the DaimlerChrysler board of supervisors, said in a radio interview Wednesday that he didn't plan to make any public comment on the proposed spinoff of the Chrysler Group.
"It would be pure speculation on our part,'' he told WJR-AM (760).
"When you say everything is on the table, I'm not sure what that means. It may end up it's not sold. I don't know."
-- "If they pull a knife, you pull a gun. If they put one of yours in the hospital, you put one of theirs in the morgue." Sean Connery, "The Untouchables"