Fiat leader ’surprised’ about Chrysler’s condition

September 16th, 2009 at 04:18pm Alex Gary

A story that just appeared today onCNNMoney.com quotes Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne as saying he was “surprised by how little had been done in the past 24 months.”

Marchionne was talking to reporters in Frankfurt, Germany.

Under the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, Chrysler did precious little research and development and has little to offer buyers in terms of new offerings.

An analyst quoted in the story found it hard to believe Marchionne didn’t know what he was getting into. Instead, the analyst believes Marchionne is laying the groundwork for drastic action.

Chrysler Group LLC has a plant in Belvidere that employs 1,700 people. The company announced plans to temporarily bring back a second shift in October and boost the payroll by 850. Those plans have been pushed back to November.

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