Automakers Ditch Jobs, 401Ks, and NASCAR

by Dollars and Sense

A quick gloom and doom update on the US auto industry today.

Chrysler announced that it was cutting 1,825 jobs. The cuts are about 6% of the company's hourly workforce of 33,000.

General Motors announced that it is indefinitely suspending company matching contributions to employee 401K retirement accounts.

The Washington Post reports that Detroit automakers are pulling out of NASCAR:

GM's annual investment alone was rumored to be $120 million-$140 million at the peak of its involvement in NASCAR. But it severed sponsorships with Bristol Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway this summer, and deeper cuts are promised as part of GM's $10 billion cost-savings program.

Ford officials announced yesterday that while they were extending their contract with Roush Fenway Racing -- its most decorated team in the elite Sprint Cup ranks -- they were also ending all direct financial support to teams in NASCAR's Nationwide and Truck series, considered developmental leagues. Dodge took a similar step in pulling out of the truck series, which also is losing Sears's Craftsman brand as its title sponsor at season's end.

Labels: 401K, auto industry, Chrysler, General Motors, GM

 

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10/23/2008 12:14:00 PM