Chrysler Loses Ei6m

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Chrysler UK have announced record losses for the first six months of 1975. The deficit of £15.95m is not far short of the £17.7m loss for the whole of 1974. Indeed the decline of Chrysler has been much sharper than even these figures show. In the first six month of 1974, for example, the company made a profit of £72,000.

Compared with the same period in the previous year the production figures for the first six months of 1975 show a reduction of 14,000 to 166,822 cars.

Chrysler's share of the British market has declined from 10.6% in the first 8 months of 1974 to 8.5% by the end of August this year.

The situation would be even worse if it had not been for a major export arrangement with The British Labour Government continues to attempt to discover a middle ground in the sectarian Orange state in N.E.Ireland.

While the funeral rites are waiting to be pronounced over the politica career of William Craig, the Sunday Times still believes that his finest hour is yet to come."

Craig, however, has moved overnight from the position of leading spokesman for the loyalist population and unchallenged leader of Vanguard to being thrown out of the Ulster Unionist Council and winning a vote of confidence by only 128 - 79 at his Vanguard Central Council.

To see why it was Craig and not Paisley who broke rank, it is necessary to see the very different class base on which these two loyIran. In the latest sales figures exports comprise £90m of the total £191m. This compares with only £50m for the first six months of 1974. Recently, however, the order from Iran has been reduced by 20%.

The new Chrysler sales drive, designed to win back a section of the lost car market, will be combined with sharp attacks on the shopfloor. The workforce has already been reduced. y 4,000 through "natural wasage" and voluntary redundanci Last week's dispute over manning arrangements at the Ryton plant in Coventry centres on arrangements for an 11% cut in production (to 2,000 cars a week) and the establishment. of labour pools. This move must be rejected. If there is insufficient work a system of work-sharing on full pay must be fought for.

Lay-offs, in all Chrysler plants, begun in September have manLLLALLI oeuvred so that some workers face as many as 10 days off work in October. Now there are rumours of a two-day wee and delay in production of thi much-heralded new car until 1977.

It is in this context, the attack on jobs and conditions, that Chrysler proposals on "worker participation" must be seen. Despite drastic losses management is still prepared to pay out over £2m for agreement to these proposals.

Thewbject of the participation proposals is to involve workers' representatives in responsibility for speed-up and demanning. Chrysler stewards should follow the lead of Leyland workers at Cowley, beginning a fight around the demand of the opening of the books and workers control of manning.