An Italian Chrysler

Today is the 1st of May. In many communist countries it is a day of celebration for the equality of workers and people. Most of Europe has off today, at least my chat friends in Paris, Turin and Lucerne are off. Great deal that it is a Friday so a nice long weekend.
It is also the first full day of Chrysler filing bankruptcy. The filing was yesterday was in Manhattan in probably the most experienced bankruptcy district. The presiding judge handled the Enron and Worldcom fiasco earlier in the decade.
So what does this mean to the economy and population as a result? In the past week, Chrysler has managed to win concessions from the UAW and bondholders to reduce costs. Just after the filing a deal was announced with Italian automaker Fiat. The association will not cost Fiat any money, but does provide a dealer network for its re-entering the US market with median priced products. The company offers the Maserati and Ferrari brands through a small network of dealers. The Alfa Romeo brand has not been seen on these shores since 1995.
With the partnership, Chrysler will have access to fuel and space efficient vehicles. The rather bland offerings of late from Chrysler is a main factor in its condition. The Italian influence will add style and sophistication and products that will be easily identifiable. Let's hope it all works out.
But one factor is almost certain, there will be some layoffs due to over capacity. This will effect not only the Chrysler plants themselves, but also suppliers of parts. The part suppliers provide to all of the manufactures, the overall drop in production has already been felt. With the planned shutdown of Chrysler plants to assess needs during bankruptcy, and GM's announcement of extended summer closures, the supply chain will definitely be suffering also.
With the automotive industry in such turmoil, maybe now is the time to consider a career change? The manufacturing environment in the United States has slowly moved off shore to regions of the world with lower labor costs, and the service industry has grown. Opportunities in travel and hospitality are nationwide and encompass many career paths. So if you are in an automotive related industry, or just looking for a change, job.travel offers a great opportunity to start over.