Daimler Eyes Truck Group Cuts if Sales Drop Next Year

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aimlerChrysler, parent of U.S. truck maker Freightliner LLC, may have to reduce the commercial-vehicle division's workforce if demand for trucks in the United States declines next year, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Andreas Renschler, Daimler’s commercial vehicles chief, told journalists Monday in Stuttgart, Germany, that he could not rule out cuts at the truck division, Bloomberg reported.

Renschler expects sales of heavy trucks in North America, where Freightliner is the leading-selling heavy-duty brand, to decline starting in 2007, Bloomberg said.

He said demand for heavy-duty vehicles can fluctuate as much as 30% in either direction in the United States, and the company needs to react quickly to those shifts, Bloomberg reported.

DaimlerChrysler has announced 14,500 job cuts since September, including 6,000 administrative positions worldwide and 8,500 assembly-line workers at the Mercedes-Benz auto division.

Last week Daimler said it planned to restructure its management and rename its commercial vehicles division under the name Truck Group.

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