DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Local leaders of the United Auto Workers union on Monday approved a historic contract agreement with Chrysler LLC even as dissidents among the rank-and-file vowed to block its ratification.

The pact reached after a seven-hour strike last week is expected to help Chrysler narrow the labor-cost gap with other non-unionized US plants such as Toyota, Honda and various foreign competitors.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Local leaders of the United Auto Workers union on Monday approved a historic contract agreement with Chrysler LLC even as dissidents among the rank-and-file vowed to block ratification.

The pact reached after a seven-hour strike last week is expected to help Chrysler narrow the labor-cost gap with the non-unionized US plants of Toyota, Honda and other foreign competitors.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - A strike at Chrysler LLC's US plants was called off after less than seven hours when the automaker reached a deal with its main union on a landmark contract aimed at helping the automaker better compete with its Asian rivals.

While details of the contract were being withheld pending union ratification, Chrysler said the tentative deal would help it narrow the labor-cost gap with the non-unionized US plants of Toyota, Honda and other foreign competitors.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - A strike at Chrysler LLC was called off Wednesday after less than seven hours when the automaker reached a deal with its main union, the United Auto Workers said.

'This agreement was made possible because UAW workers made it clear to Chrysler that we needed an agreement that rewards the contributions they have made to the success of this company,' UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement.

The tentative agreement must still be ratified by union members and approved by the courts and federal regulators.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - A strike at Chrysler LLC was called off Wednesday after just seven hours when the automaker reached a deal with its main union, the United Auto Workers said in a statement.

'This agreement was made possible because UAW workers made it clear to Chrysler that we needed an agreement that rewards the contributions they have made to the success of this company,' UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Autoworkers walked off the job Wednesday at Chrysler LLC plants across the United States after negotiators failed to reach agreement on a new contract ahead of a strike deadline.

The talks stalled over issues of job security, health care and wages at the third-largest US automaker, sources close to the negotiations told AFP.

'It's official, it's a go,' Scott Mills, a United Auto Workers union picket captain told AFP about the strike, as he began handing out picket signs at a technical center in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills.

OTTAWA, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Labor strife at US car manufacturer Chrysler is spilling into Canada, with two assembly plants here likely to shut soon due to a parts shortage created by the US strike, a spokesman said Wednesday.

'We think the Windsor plant will go down within 24 hours and the Brampton plant will go down within 24 to 48 hours,' Chrysler Canada spokesman Ed Saenz told AFP.

Both assembly plants are located in Ontario province, and employ 9,000 people. Chrysler's total Canadian workforce is 12,000.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Chrysler LLC workers began to walk off the job Wednesday as negotiations stalled ahead of a strike deadline.

'It's official, it's a go,' Scott Mills, a United Auto Workers union picket captain told AFP about the strike, as he began handing out picket signs at a technical center in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills.

Officials at Chrysler and the UAW were not immediately available for comment.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Negotiators held last-minute talks with US automaker Chrysler LLC Wednesday as a strike deadline by the United Auto Workers union approached.

Sources close to the negotiation said it was unclear whether an agreement could be reached before an 11:00 am (1500 GMT) strike deadline.

'There's progress being made but there's more to be done,' one source close to the negotiations said on condition of anonymity.

'I wouldn't want to handicap it,' the source told AFP.

DETROIT, Michigan, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Fresh off a two-day strike at General Motors Corp, the United Auto Workers union was getting ready to walk off the job at Chrysler LLC Wednesday as contract talks stalled over wages, health care and other issues, sources said.

While neither company nor union officials would comment on the record, sources close to the negotiation said there is no telling whether an agreement will be reached before an 11 am (1500 GMT) strike deadline.

CHICAGO, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - Fresh off a two-day strike at General Motors Corp, the United Auto Workers union has set a Wednesday strike deadline for contract negotiations with Chrysler LLC, sources close to the negotiations told AFP Monday.

The union will not necessarily walk off the job if an agreement is not reached by the deadline of 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) Wednesday, the source said.

Negotiations could be extended on an hourly or daily basis.

CHICAGO, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Chrysler LLC on Friday recalled more than 100,000 Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring cars because of a risk that a faulty cooling fan motor could lead to a fire under the hood.

No accidents or injuries have been reported.

The automaker discovered a problem with the left side cooling fan motor connector which can be contaminated with engine coolant.

CHICAGO, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Chrysler LLC reported a five percent drop in September sales to 159,799 vehicles Tuesday amid planned reduction in low-margin sales to rental car companies and broad economic uncertainty following a credit crunch and housing slump.

'With the overall industry down versus September 2006, Chrysler retail sales remain strong,' said Darryl Jackson, Vice President of US Sales.

DETROIT, Michigan, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - A landmark deal which could help the Big Three US automakers narrow their labor cost gap with Asian competitors faced opposition Thursday among the union's rank-and-file workers ahead of a crucial ratification vote expected next week.

Leaders of the United Auto Workers union expressed confidence that they would receive the votes necessary to approve a contract negotiated with General Motors Wednesday after a two-day strike.

DETROIT, Michigan, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - The United Auto Workers union could meet some resistance as it tries to wrap up contract negotiations at struggling Ford Motor Co. and privately-held Chrysler LLC following Wednesday's landmark deal with General Motors Corp., analysts said.

While Ford would benefit significantly from the same kind of health-care deal offered to GM, it could balk at the kind of job security concessions offered by its rival.

CHICAGO, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - The Big Three US automakers will likely substantially narrow their labor cost gap with Asian rivals following a landmark deal reached between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers union, analysts said.

While details of Wednesday's tentative agreement are being withheld pending union ratification, GM is expected to be able to cut its nearly 30 dollars-per-hour labor cost disadvantage with non-unionized US plants run by Toyota Motor and other foreign competitors by more than half.

TOKYO, Sept 9, 2007 (AFP) - While globalisation looks unstoppable in most of the world, Japan has long done business by its own rules, with few foreigners succeeding at climbing to the highest echelons of power.

Jim Press, an American who is credited with spearheading Toyota Motor Corp.'s phenomenal success in the key US market, was one of the few foreign executives who understood and assimilated into Japanese corporate culture.

And so news that Press has left fast-growing Toyota after 37 years for a job at struggling US automaker Chrysler has left many here stunned.

DETROIT, Michigan, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - The management of Chrysler LLC is committed to a long-term turnaround plan, the company's new chief executive officer said Friday.

Robert Nardelli, who was recruited in early August by the automaker's new owner, private equity group Cerberus Capital, said the recent hiring of two highly respected executives, Jim Press, from Toyota, and Phil Murtaugh from General Motors Corp., illustrates Cerberus is serious about the Chrysler turnaround.

CHICAGO, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Chrysler LLC announced Thursday that it had poached a top executive, James Press, from Japanese rival Toyota as the newly independent US automaker seeks to re-energize its operations.

Press, a veteran auto industry executive, was formerly the president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motors North America. He spent 37 years working his way up the corporate ladder at the Japanese auto giant.

NEW YORK, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Chrysler LLC said Tuesday its US sales for August fell 6.1 percent from a year ago to 168,203 vehicles, in the first monthly report since the group was spun off by Germany's DaimlerChrysler.

'Overall, the industry experienced softer sales in August than a year ago,' said Darryl Jackson, vice president of Chrysler, purchased last month by private equity investors led by Cerberus for some 7.4 billion dollars.

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) - The new chief executive of Chrysler, Robert Nardelli, said Thursday he believed a cut in interest rates would help re-energize the sluggish US economy.

Nardelli, the former chairman of the Home Depot, who took over as Chrysler's CEO only last week, said he would have no problem endorsing an interest rate reduction by the US Federal Reserve in the wake of the troubles in the housing market, which have led to financial turmoil in markets around the world.

TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Chrysler LLC is working on a significant global expansion following its split from Daimler AG, a senior executive said Thursday.

That expansion will include forging new international partnerships and could involve renewing past alliances with Mitsubishi and Hyundai, said Frank Klegon, vice president of Chrysler's product development.

'We want to grow as a global enterprise,' Klegon said at an automotive conference in Traverse City, Michigan.

WASHINGTON, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - US carmaker Chrysler said Monday it had appointed Robert Nardelli, the former head of home-improvement chain Home Depot, as its new chairman and chief executive, as it vies to turn around a sales decline.

The selection of Nardelli, who left Home Depot under a cloud related to complaints about his compensation, comes after German auto giant DaimlerChrysler on Friday completed a 7.4 billion-dollar sale of its US arm Chrysler to Cerberus, a large private equity firm.

WASHINGTON, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - US carmaker Chrysler said Monday it had appointed Robert Nardelli, the former head of home-improvement chain Home Depot, as its new chairman and chief executive as it vies to turn around a sales decline.

The selection of Nardelli, who left Home Depot under a cloud related to complaints about his compensation, comes after German auto giant DaimlerChrysler on Friday completed a 7.4 billion-dollar sale of its US arm Chrysler to Cerberus, a large private equity firm.

FRANKFURT, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - Robert Nardelli, former chief executive at home furnishings supplier Home Depot, is to take command of US automaker Chrysler, the company said in a statement here.

Nardelli was named Chrysler chairman and chief executive by the automaker's board of directors on Sunday. He replaces Tom LaSorda, who becomes vice chairman.

The German automaker DaimlerChrysler on Friday completed a 5.5-billion-euro (7.6-billion-dollar) sale of its Chrysler subsidiary to the Cerberus investment fund.

WASHINGTON, Aug 5, 2007 (AFP) - Robert Nardelli, a former chief executive officer at Home Depot, will be taking command of the troubled automaker Chrysler, The Wall Street Journal reported on its website late Sunday.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the situation, the newspaper said Nardelli will take over from Tom LaSorda, who had run the automaker before the arrival of its new majority owner, Cerberus Capital Management LP.

Meanwhile, LaSorda will become vice chairman and president, the report said, citing a former auto industry official.

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) - A new Chrysler emerged Friday as DaimlerChrysler AG of Germany completed a 7.4-billion-dollar deal to sell its American branch to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

The uncoupling of Daimler and Chrysler spelled the end of the fabled 'marriage of equals' that was supposed to create a company with a broad product line, better able to withstand global competition.

After a troubled nine-year merger with its German parent, Chrysler once again is in American hands.