Workers avoid furloughs; Bankruptcy costs spare 2 unpaid weeks

Salaried Chrysler workers will not have to take a 2-week unpaid furlough this summer because expenses throughout its 41-day Chapter 11 bankruptcy were less than anticipated. "It found savings in the process that rendered furloughs unnecessary. It's 1 more reason why it's good news to have bankruptcy in our rear-view mirror," it said. While that is welcome news to 10,000 white-collar employees of the Auburn Hills automaker, it won''t by itself stimulate a sluggish economy in southeast MI and other areas where Chrysler has significant salaried staff, said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank. Assuming 7,000 of the workers live in southeast MI, removing the furlough option means that they will receive about $32M before taxes, for what traditionally has been vacation. That was how much they have received in previous years, but because of the need to conserve cash in the bankruptcy, it wasn't clear whether it would pay workers for their time off. MI's GDP for 2008 was $383B. "It's not even 0.1% of MI's economy. "t's nice they were treated well, but it's not going to change the economic trajectory very much," it said. But for Chrysler employees, it's another small, but symbolic confirmation it can move forward. Vehicle production resumes June 29 at 7 of 12 assembly plants. Production of the Dodge Viper sports car began Monday at Chrysler's Conner Avenue plant in Detroit.