FCA, the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles corporation that resulted from the merger of Chrysler and Fiat, is looking to merge now with General Motors, but GM bosses want no part of the idea, according to AutoNews in Detroit.
FCA first floated the idea early this year and GM's Board refused. Now, both GM and FCA are reportedly taking another look, each hiring financial advisers to see if it makes sense.
For its part, FCA's chairman is arguing that combining development teams would enable each of them to create new and better products faster. But the biggest shareholder in GM is the company that manages the United Auto Workers healthcare trust for retired workers and no one thinks they would rush to the merger idea for one simple reason. Job losses from a merger would hurt current employees and the Union itself.
This whole merger thing sounds like a game being played by millionaires who sit on the boards of large corporations that employ thousands of workers and are just dreaming up ways to make more money for themselves and their companies by cutting company costs, which often means cutting jobs. We can't think of a single merger in the last decade where the new company had the same number of employees that the two companies had before the merger - workers seem to always lose out when big corporations get bigger.
And for the guy who goes car shopping later? Well your next Chevy Impala just might end up being made by Fiat workers in Europe. Will the quality get any better? Only time can tell...
Meanwhile, if you've got a lemon Fiat or Chrysler, you know who to call.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.