Carmaker Chrysler LLC, which was recently taken private by Cerberus Capital Management, said Thursday it is cutting thousands of jobs and cancelling production of four vehicles.

The company will eliminate between 8,500 and 10,000 hourly jobs through 2008 and cut 2,100 salaried employees as it continues its struggle to cut costs.

The Dodge Magnum will be phased out in the first three months of 2008. (AP Photo/Chrysler Group)

Shifts at five North American assembly plants will be eliminated, including one at the firm's Brampton, Ont., factory.

The company is cutting the Chrysler Pacifica, which is made in Windsor, Ont., and the Dodge Magnum, which is assembled in Brampton. 

About 1,100 jobs will be eliminated in Brampton in the first quarter of 2008, CAW president Buzz Hargrove said.

The exact impact in Windsor is still unknown, but Hargrove estimated that about 100 employees could be affected.

"This is just horrible, horrible news," Hargrove said during a news conference in Toronto.

The automaker is also axing the Crossfire and the PT Cruiser convertible through 2008, while it adds some new products, the Dodge Journey and Challenger plus hybrid versions of the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango.

Through September, cumulative year-to-date U.S. sales of the Pacifica were off about 30 per cent, while Magnum sales were down about 32 per cent. Crossfire sales in the U.S. were up about 12 per cent.

Hargrove said he expects two Canadian suppliers — Innovatech, a Magna-owned plant, and Benteler Automotive — that produce parts exclusively for the Pacifica to shut down. Innovatech has about 100 CAW members, while Benteler has about 150 union members.

Market situation 'changed dramatically'

The latest round of cuts comes on top of the elimination of 11,000 hourly and 2,000 salaried jobs announced in February.

"The market situation has changed dramatically in the eight months since Chrysler established the recovery and transformation plan as its blueprint," chief executive Bob Nardelli said.

In addition to Brampton and Windsor, the productions cuts include:

• The third shift at a plant in Belvidere, Ill.
• The second shift at the Jefferson North plant in Detroit.
• The third shift at a plant in Toledo, Ohio.
• The second shift at a plant in Sterling Heights, Mich.

Daimler AG sold 80.1 per cent of the company to Cerberus Capital in the summer.