Chrysler Group is determined to prevent hourly labor costs from rising as the automaker enters contract negotiations with the UAW. It took bankruptcy and a painful downsizing for Chrysler to get even with the transplants on labor costs, said a source familiar with Chrysler-UAW negotiations.

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The company intends to stay there even if General Motors and Ford Motor Co. negotiate deals raising compensation for their UAW-represented work forces, the source said.

“They can cut any damn agreement they want over there,” the source said. “But what walks into this building better meet the expectations of our cost structure. Otherwise it’s not getting signed. So that notion of pattern is not something I’m particularly worried about or concerned with. It’s got to work for us.”

Chrysler officially kicks off UAW-Detroit 3 contract talks Monday. The carmakers will work to replace four-year contracts that expire Sept. 14.

Chrysler plans to keep its average hourly labor cost at $51 per worker, including wages and benefits, the source said. That’s what the transplant automakers typically pay, and Chrysler cannot raise overall costs and fall behind the transplants again, the source said.

“We dramatically raise our fixed costs and we’re shooting ourselves in the foot,” the source said.

Full Story here: Autonews