A General Motors Corp.- Chrysler LLC combination wouldn’t win the support of auto unions in the U.S. and Canada because jobs would be lost, the labor groups’ presidents said.
“We have not had any discussions formally with any of the companies,” United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger said Tuesday on Detroit radio station WWJ.
“I personally would not want to see anything that would result in a consolidation that would mean the elimination of additional jobs.”
The comments by Gettelfinger and Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza follow reports that GM and Chrysler have discussed a possible merger.
Cerberus Capital Management LP, which owns 80.1 percent of Auburn Hills, Mich.- based Chrysler, is in talks with Detroit-based GM about combining the companies, five people with knowledge of the talks have said.
