DETROIT, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Contract negotiations between
Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and the United Auto Workers union will run
past the Wednesday deadline, allowing for an initial deal with
General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) or Chrysler Group LLC.

A Ford spokeswoman confirmed that the automaker and the
union agreed to continue discussions after the contract expires
on Sept. 14 “in an effort to reach a tentative agreement that
is in the best interest of both parties.”

DETROIT, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Negotiating teams from the
United Auto Workers union met into the night Monday with
General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Chrysler Group LLC but face the
prospect of extending current contracts that expire Wednesday
night.

Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said the
automaker and the UAW are not close to a deal but continue to
target Wednesday night for completion of a tentative pact.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Residents of Detroit, one of the most economically depressed cities in America, reacted to President Barack Obama’s proposal of a $447 billion package to create jobs with impatience.

“If he can make it happen, it needs to happen today,” said 53-year-old Internet technician Ed Render, a father of two, who was laid off from Ford Motor Co two years ago. “I get my last unemployment check this week. I’m freaking out.”

DETROIT, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Residents of Detroit, one of
the most economically depressed cities in America, reacted to
President Barack Obama’s proposal of a $447 billion package to
create jobs with impatience.

“If he can make it happen, it needs to happen today,” said
53-year-old Internet technician Ed Render, a father of two, who
was laid off from Ford Motor Co two years ago. “I get my last
unemployment check this week. I’m freaking out.”

DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler Group LLC and the United Auto Workers union are discussing a plan that would lift the base wages of entry-level workers at the No. 3. U.S. automaker over time, two people involved in the talks said.

The development comes as Fiat-controlled Chrysler and the UAW make progress toward a new contract with less than a week before expiration of the current four-year deal on wages and benefits on September 14.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Contract talks between General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and the United Auto Workers union have intensified and shifted to consideration of the scope and terms of a profit-sharing deal for some 49,000 workers at the top American automaker, people with knowledge of the talks said.

In a sign of progress, GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson met on Tuesday with UAW President Bob King for over an hour at the union’s Detroit headquarters known as Solidarity House, the sources said.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Contract talks between General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and the United Auto Workers union have intensified and shifted to consideration of the scope and terms of a profit-sharing deal for some 49,000 workers at the top American automaker, people with knowledge of the talks said.

In a sign of progress, GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson met on Tuesday with UAW President Bob King for over an hour at the union’s Detroit headquarters known as Solidarity House, the sources said.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Fiat SpA (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has been named chairman of the Chrysler Group LLC, the company said on Tuesday, further cementing Fiat’s control of the U.S. automaker it has steered since 2009.

Two new directors with established ties to Fiat also took the place of resigning board members with private equity investment backgrounds who had been appointed as part of Chrysler’s restructuring in a bankruptcy brokered and financed by the U.S. Treasury.

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and the United Auto Workers union are discussing buyouts for higher-wage, skilled trade workers as contract talks between the union and all three Detroit automakers intensify, people familiar with negotiations said.

The early retirement offers would cut labor costs for GM, which emerged from a government-funded bankruptcy at near the midpoint of its current, four-year contract with the UAW.

DETROIT, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Bob Lutz, the outspoken former
product development czar at General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has been
hired as a part-time adviser to the top U.S. automaker.

Lutz, 79, retired from GM in 2010. A charismatic figure
known for his blunt criticism of GM’s worst cars and
slow-moving bureaucracy, he both questioned global warming and
pushed for the development of the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet
Volt.