Chrysler to cut 1,000 jobs by September

Chrysler has confirmed that it will shed up to 1,000 salaried jobs by the end of September in an effort to reduce costs and streamline its business. Chrysler now joins fellow Detroit carmakers General Motors and Ford, both of which have also announced similar cuts to their salary staff.

Employees were notified about the impending cuts via a memo sent earlier this week. "To respond to the current market conditions, an incremental manpower reduction of 1,000 salaried employees by September 30, 2008, will be required," a company spokesman told Automotive News. The job cuts will be achieved through a combination of retirements, special programs and attrition.

This latest announcement comes less than a month after rumors that Chrysler could be nearing bankruptcy surfaced. Chrysler has since denied those rumors, claiming it has sufficient cash reserves to maintain its operations into the perceivable future. Despite losing $1.6 billion in 2007, Chrysler has stated that its liquidity position through June had remained unchanged since the end of last year and is currently at $9 billion.