Former “car czar” Ron Bloom leaving

Ron Bloom, 56, President Obama’s “car czar” and top manufacturing adviser will step down at the end of August. The White House released a statement on Tuesday confirming earlier reports. He plans to return home to Pittsburgh to spend more time with his family but hasn’t announced any future career moves at this time.

“For the past two and a half years, Ron Bloom’s leadership and expertise has helped us put America’s automakers back on the road to recovery, launch new partnerships to make our manufacturers more competitive, and set aggressive fuel economy standards that will save consumers and businesses money at the pump,” said President Obama. “I’m grateful for his service, and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

“I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve under President Obama and alongside so many talented individuals who worked tirelessly to strengthen the economy and help communities across the nation,” Bloom said of his tenure. “We’ve faced many tough choices and dealt with numerous challenges over the past two and a half years — from restructuring the American auto industry to developing historic fuel efficiency standards. I am confident in this Administration’s ability to build on these accomplishments and continue our efforts to revitalize the manufacturing sector.”

In February 2009, Bloom was named Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry. As Steve Rattner’s deputy, he oversaw the restructuring of Chrysler, giving it a chance to return to profitability with the aid of a multibillion dollar taxpayer rescue that saved the automaker from possible liquidation.

An experienced dealmaker, he played a key role in extracting key concessions from Cerberus Capital Management and the executive team in place at the time, as well as from Chrysler’s creditors and the United Auto Workers union.

When Rattner left the government in August 2009, Bloom took over the post of “car czar,” responsible for watching the industry and protecting the Treasury’s (and the taxpayers’) interests.

Fiat officially owns majority of Chrysler

In an statement from Turin today, Fiat SpA announced it has completed the purchase of the U.S Treasury’s 6% interest in Chrysler Group LLC for $500 million, and of the Canadian government’s 1.5% stake for $125 million. With these these purchases, Fiat SpA now holds a majority interest of 53.5% of Chrysler.

With the final milestone to be reached later this year when Chrysler demonstrates a U.S.-made, 40-mpg car, Fiat’s stake will rise to 58.5 percent. (The 40 mpg specified appears to be the EPA combined rating used for CAFE calculations, but the car is likely to be rated at 40 mpg highway as well.)

Chrysler figures chronicle the carnage

Employment figures released today by Chrysler in advance of the negotiations with the United Auto Workers union show not only how deep Daimler cut worker ranks but the even greater slashes inflicted by Cerberus Capital Management in its tenure.

At the end of 2000, Chrysler employed 75,489 hourly and salaried UAW workers. By the time Dr. Z and the Stuttgart Seven dumped Chrysler seven years later, that number was down to 44,075, a 41.6 percent decline. In just two years, “Chainsaw Bob” Nardelli trimmed the union ranks by an even greater margin, 44.6 percent, to just 24,403 employees. In period from 2000 to 2009, more than 67 of every 100 UAW jobs at Chrysler was cut. The salaried workers came out slightly better; only six of every ten positions were eliminated, but the hourly workers on the production floor saw their ranks trimmed by 68.4 percent.

Since the alliance with Fiat, the tide has turned a bit. in 2010, Chrysler added 180 salaried positions and 966 hourly jobs, bringing its total UAW headcount to 25,549.

Former Chrysler dealer does well by doing good

In his latest column, Rod Meloni, business writer for “Click on Detroit,” highlights Chuck Fortinberry, a former Chrysler-Jeep dealer from Clarkston, Michigan, a small town northwest of Detroit.

Fortinberry he found his dealership listed among the 789 to be cut as Chrysler went into bankruptcy in 2009. He fought to keep his business and the 51 jobs that went with it, but in the end there was nothing he could do but close on June 9, 2009, literally days before he would have received his 25th anniversary trophy as a Chrysler retailer.

He tried using the facility as for a variety of purposes, but nothing seemed to work.

The he struck on the idea of doing vehicle conversions for mobility-challenged customers. He had the space, he had the hoists and there was a conversion business in trouble in Kalamazoo. Fortinberry took over the company and last fall he opened AutoAbility. The former dealership is now a manufacturing facility employing 13, a figure Fortinberry hopes to double this fall when he adds a second line. The company does five minivan conversions a week and can’t keep up with the demand. Fortinberry says AutoAbility will be profitable within eight months of opening for business.

To learn more about Chuck Fortinberry’s story, read Rod Meloni’s column “Out of Adversity” at the “Click on Detroit” website.

To learn more about AutoAbility, click here.

Thanks to Marc Rozman for the tip!