DETROIT (Reuters) - The head of the United Auto Workers Union said on Wednesday he had no opinion about a potential takeover of Chrysler Group by General Motors Corp. (GM.N).þþ``I have absolutely no opinion on that at all,'' Ron Gettelfinger told Detroit radio station WJR in a morning interview.þþThe comments were the first from the UAW chief since word emerged last week that GM had been in talks on a potential acquisition of the struggling Chrysler unit from parent DaimlerChrysler AG. (DCXGn.DE).þþThe union's position on a possible sale of Chrysler has been viewed by analysts as one of the major hurdles facing any deal.þþGettelfinger, who sits on DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board, said the prospect of a sale of Chrysler had come as a shock to hourly workers at the struggling automaker who had expected only to hear a cost-cutting plan detailed last week.þþBut he said it was too early to speculate on the outcome of the process.þþ``It may end up that it's not sold. Who knows?'' he said.þþChrysler, which lost $1.48 billion last year as its inventory ballooned, has announced plans to cut 13,000 jobs and close a Delaware assembly plant.þþDaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said last week that all options were on the table for Chrysler, opening the way for a possible sale or spin-off of the unit, which represents the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands.þþ``I know the fear, I know the anxiety, I know the frustration and worry of our members,'' Gettelfinger said. ''Don't forget that before this term 'everything's on the table' came up we were dealing with a restructuring announcement. People are very concerned.''þþSeparately, Gettelfinger rejected the suggestion that the UAW would have to grant special concessions to Ford Motor Co. (F.N) in a round of contract talks set to begin this summer.þþ``They just went through this huge financing. They've got a ton of cash. They've got great leadership at the top of that company,'' Gettelfinger said. ``They've made some tough decisions but so have we. That company is in great shape.''þþGettelfinger was responding to comments a day earlier from a prominent labor economist who said the UAW would face pressure to grant deep, emergency concessions to Ford as it negotiates a contract to replace the current four-year pact set to expire on September 14.þþSean McAlinden, an analyst for the Center for Automotive Research, said on Tuesday Ford was facing a ``meltdown'' with a faster cash burn than it anticipated. He estimated Ford would need combined wage and benefit cuts of up to 20 percent.þþGettelfinger said that view of the contract talks was speculative.þþ``We know there's a lot of tension out there. People are very concerned and rightfully so. But we're going to stay focused on representing our members,'' he said.þþUAW membership has fallen to less than 600,000 from a peak of near 1.5 million in 1979. Tens of thousands of union workers have accepted buyout offers in the past year from the struggling auto industry.þþTaken together, GM, Ford and Chrysler have detailed plans to eliminate over 80,000 factory jobs in the latest round of restructuring.þþ
Source: NY Times
