Daimler to Halt Production For One Month

It is common knowledge that the automotive industry is doing it tough at the moment (and likely for some time to come) and Daimler has now joined the rapidly increasing number of manufacturers making big changes to ensure a future in the game. Daimler's recent announcement that it will halt production for a full month shows how widespread the crisis has become.

Daimler will shut down operations from December 11th to January 12th to re-align stock levels with current demand. In addition, reports indicate that Daimler may be considering parting with its 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler (though it's uncertain what these shares would be worth given the current merger talks with GM).

Furthermore, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (with assets listed at upwards of USD$650 billion) is reportedly interested in purchasing a stake in Daimler though the German marque has denied that any such negotiations have taken place and stated that it has no plans to do so.

It's getting difficult to keep up with the number of production cuts and job losses occurring throughout the global automotive industry. There's little that can be done at this point beyond chalking up the names of the injured. Troubling times indeed.