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Nardelli Says "My Bad' for Trenton/Kenosha Mistake

As the old latin saying goes, "erare humanum est" which means not even CEOs are excepted. The only difference is that when one of them gets it wrong, as Chrysler's CEO did, the consequences match his/her position.

While talking with elected officials from Wisconsin, Nardelli, the soon-to-be-former Chrysler's CEO, spoke about the plant closures his company will have to undergo to become viable. Unwillingly, the official mistook the Trenton plant (set to continue production) with the Kenosha facility (set to close by the end of 2010).

The statement, as expected, troubled the Trenton workers and "has added further confusion to an already difficult situation," as Nardelli himself admitted. He apologized in a letter sent to Governor Jim Doyle.

"I want to start by expressing my sincere apologies about the confusion surrounding comments I made on a conference call with you," Nardelli was quoted as saying by jsonline.com. He continued with a letter to Gwen Moore, Milwaukee representative:

"I mistakenly conveyed the status of the Phoenix investment in Trenton, Mich. The facts I described were accurate for Trenton and not Kenosha, Wisconsin." he wrote.

As we previously reported the five plants targeted for closure by the bankrupt American manufacturer are Kenosha Engine, Detroit Axle, Twinsburg Stamping, Conner Avenue assembly plant and St. Louis North assembly plant. The Trenton facility will produce the new line of Phoenix V6 engines.

Nardelli's apologies aside, Moore is unpleased with the closure of Kenosha and the relocation of production to Trenton and Saltillo, Mexico.

"I don't particularly appreciate hearing all the factoids about why they have to send these jobs off to Mexico when we could in fact retool the plant in Kenosha," Moore said. "I'm saying there's still an opportunity to make another business decision, particularly since the government and the U.S. taxpayer are so deeply involved."
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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