Chrysler shuts down U.S. plants for month

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Chrysler LLC is shutting down all U.S. vehicle production for a month, the company said Wednesday, citing a lack of consumer credit and slow sales.

The announcement adds two weeks to the company's annual holiday season shutdown, which usually occurs between Dec. 24 and Jan. 5.

The shutdown affects all 30 of the company's U.S. plants as of late Friday, and 46,000 workers will be asked not to return until Jan. 19, CNNMoney.com reported. The company did not say how many vehicles would not be produced because of the shutdown.

Chrysler is not alone in shutting down production, at least temporarily.

Last week, General Motors said it was shutting down almost 30 percent of its North American capacity during the first quarter of next year. That will take 250,000 GM vehicles out of production, CNNMoney.com said.

A move to advance $14 billion in loans to Chrysler and GM was stymied by U.S. Senate Republicans. Ford asked for loan guarantees rather than funding outright. The Bush administration has said it would look at using some of the $700 billion financial institutions bailout to help the auto industry.