Klegon: No more job cuts

Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s executive vice president for product development, says the company is not including additional workforce reductions in the viability plan to be submitted to the federal government next Tuesday.

Klegon’s comments came after the announcement of General Motors’ plan to trim an additional 10,000 people from its payroll. Klegon noted Chrysler had a major reduction in force last November when about 25 percent of its salaried employees were let go.

Chrysler has reduced its employee count by 38 percent since the end of 2006 and some industry experts say the automaker may be at the point where it’s impossible to trim any farther without jeopardizing the company’s ability to function. Some analysts are already saying Chrysler does not have enough in-house staff for development of new vehicles which is why it needs the alliance with Fiat SpA.

Chrysler must present a detailed plan for long-term sustainabilty in order to obtain an additional $3 billion in government-guaranteed loans.