UAW chief: Merger could cost auto jobs

Economic troubles led to consolidation talks.

LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) — As negotiations for General Motors Corp. to acquire Chrysler LLC appear to be gaining momentum, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Friday he is very concerned that the deal may happen, with many workers losing their jobs.

Gettelfinger said in an interview that he knows the companies have been holding discussions for a long time and said there probably are steps the union could take to try to halt any merger. But he said that would be speculation at this point.

“Let’s say we’re concerned that it’s coming because of the impact that it would have on our work force,” Gettelfinger said at a union hall rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Neither Chrysler nor GM has contacted the union about the acquisition talks, he said, but he cited reports about the merger that say GM would look to take costs out if it were to acquire Chrysler.

“That’s going to mean a reduction of workers,” he said. “I don’t know just exactly how that would work out, but yes, we are very concerned about that.”

Chrysler has 66,409 employees, most of them in North America. About 33,000 are represented by the United Auto Workers.

Gettelfinger said the union also is concerned about further job cuts at GM as it tries to deal with slumping sales and the credit crisis. The automaker has announced more than 4,300 layoffs at its factories since Monday, and industry analysts have said more may be on the way.

Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli, in a television interview Thursday night, would not comment on talks with GM, but said the automaker is looking for partners and alliances. He said economic troubles have made the industry ripe for consolidation.

“It certainly creates an environment for consolidation where you can get synergies of productivity that will allow you to be more competitive, not only here in the U.S. market, but on a global basis,” he said.

GM has discussed a merger or acquisition with Cerberus Capital Management LP, the New York private equity firm that owns 80.1 percent of Chrysler.

Chrysler, Gettelfinger said, could still make it on its own because it has rechargeable electric cars and other new models in the works.

Industry analysts also are skeptical of how GM will benefit because the companies have so many overlapping brands and models, but Chrysler has said it has about $11 billion in cash, and GM may be interested in gaining access to that.