Chrysler to move some of its staff to Asia

Chrysler to move some of its staff to Asia

WASHINGTON (AFP): Chrysler Corp. said Friday it would transfer
some employees from its U.S. headquarters to Singapore and Tokyo
as a "first step" toward further expansion of the automaker into
Asia.

But company spokesman Mike Aberlich declined to characterize
the move as a "major expansion" into Asia, a phrase used by the
Wall Street Journal.

Aberlich said one-third of the Chrysler Asia-Pacific employees
at its Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters would be transferred
to the region, which would mark "a first step toward further
expansion."

The move "will allow us to get closer to the market and better
size opportunities for expansion," Aberlich said.

The transfers should begin at mid-year and be complete by the
end of the year, Aberlich said.

The Journal said Chrysler is planning a major expansion into
Asia, which eventually will include facilities to assemble light
vehicles and produce auto parts.

The report said Chrysler will also seek partners to establish
facilities in Asia that would assemble prefabricated autos and
light trucks.

Chrysler, the number three U.S. automaker, was the first non-
Asian group to establish an Asian joint venture in the region. In
1983 it opened a factory near Beijing to build Jeeps, Beijing
Jeep Corp.

It has since been overtaken by U.S. competitors, especially
General Motors, but also European competitors.

"Every country is different," Aberlich said. "You have to be
cautious when you consider overprotectionism in Korea, or
Indonesia's national car program, for instance."

Three years ago Chrysler abandoned a project to build minivans
in China after Beijing demanded the right to license technology
secrets.

Chrysler is instead focusing on the Jeep, its "most global
brand," Aberlich said.

The company already owns 30 percent of an operation in
Thailand that produces Jeeps. In Indonesia and Malaysia Jeeps are
built by local contractors.

Chrysler has invested some US$200 million in 1996 alone to
assemble Jeeps in Asia, Aberlich said.

The Singapore office will be in charge of South Asia
operations, and Tokyo office would handle northern Asia affairs,
Aberlich said.