Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza has high praise for Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne after the two men met Thursday at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hill, Mich. (Chris Young/Canadian Press)

A meeting between representatives of the Canadian Auto Workers and the Chrysler Group LLC late Thursday has given union president Ken Lewenza new confidence about the future of the struggling automaker.

The meeting at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., was scheduled to last three hours. Instead, it lasted six hours and ended only after Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne took the autoworkers out for dinner at a local fish restaurant.

Marchionne spent much of the time "expressing his confidence in the corporation" and the future of its products, Lewenza told CBC News.

"I left there feeling a sense of confidence for the first time in a long time," he said. "This is a guy that's focused and determined to turn the corporation around, not just for the short term but for the long term."

Turning Chrysler around won't be easy.

Sales of Chrysler vehicles in the United States were down 42 per cent in September from the year before, and down 32 per cent internationally. The company laid off 12 percent of its United States workforce, or 360 employees, from its field offices and headquarters on Oct. 1. And it is scheduled to begin talks with U.S. congressional leaders who want the company to reverse its recent termination of 789 dealerships.

'The existing products that we have in the pipeline at our Canadian plants are incredibly important to the company.'—Ken Lewenza, CAW president

Chrysler has fared slightly better in Canada. The company rehired 1,200 workers at its Dodge Grand Caravan assembly plant in Windsor in August due to increased demand, and sales of the minivan rose six per cent in September over the year before.

Still, the next nine or 10 months will be "a very difficult time for Chrysler workers and CAW members," Lewenza predicted.

But Marchionne "clearly indicated that the existing products that we have in the pipeline at our Canadian plants are incredibly important to the company," he added.

'A worker's CEO'

Thursday's was the first formal meeting between Lewenza and Marchionne, who took over as CEO from Robert Nardelli on June 10.

The two men spent much of the day "getting to know each other," Lewenza said, and he liked what he saw.

Marchionne has streamlined Chrysler management team, improved communication between departments in the area of product quality and improved plans to get vehicles to market quickly, Lewenza said.

"He's a worker's CEO," Lewenza said. "He puts in the hours that are necessary, he empowers his leadership team, and he certainly made the CAW leadership yesterday feel very, very comfortable with the presentation he gave."

A spokesperson for Chrysler refused to comment on the meeting, calling it private.

Marchionne and other senior executives will outline the company's strategic plan to economists and the media at its annual meeting on Nov. 4.