Chrysler chairman says company can meet job-cutting goals

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chrysler LLC Chairman and Executive Bob Nardelli said Monday the automaker should be able to meet its job-cutting goals without antagonizing the United Auto Workers.

Nardelli said that the company will try to move workers currently in jobs banks into openings created at factories where large numbers of workers took buyouts or early retirement packages.

Workers in jobs banks get most of their pay while on layoff.

Nardelli said the company is working to reach its job-cutting goals through means other than layoffs.

Nardelli said Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda and his management team have not missed a target, "and I'm confident that they'll be able to achieve that ... objective in a very cooperative way."

Chrysler announced in November plans to cut up to 11,000 jobs, including 8,000 to 10,000 hourly and 1,000 salaried positions.

Speaking to reporters at an event held to honor Chrysler employees who have served in the military, Nardelli called proposals by presidential candidates for a holiday on the federal gasoline tax a short-term solution.

"If you look at the bigger picture -- from an energy standpoint, from an environmental standpoint and from an economic standpoint -- one would certainly suggest trying to encourage consumers to be more cognizant of not only miles per gallon but the number of miles they're driving," he said.

The former CEO of The Home Depot Inc. also recommended that the federal government create an incentive for people to buy domestically produced cars such as hybrids Chrysler plans to launch later this year.