A top Chrysler official warned Canadian lawmakers that the struggling U.S. automaker may shut down its factories in Canada if it does not receive significant labor concessions and government aid. “Chrysler LLC cannot afford to manufacture products in a jurisdiction that is uncompetitive, relative to other jurisdictions,” company president Tom LaSorda told a Parliamentary committee Wednesday night. Chrysler's labor costs in Canada are about $20 an hour higher than automakers like Toyota and Honda, LaSorda told the committee in Ottawa. “Currently, Chrysler CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) is not competitive,” he said. The third-biggest U.S.-based automaker also asked for about $2.3 billion from the Canadian and Ontario province governments and demanded relief in a tax dispute with Ottawa. “Failure to satisfactorily resolve these three factors will place our Canadian manufacturing operations at a significant disadvantage relative to our manufacturing operations in North America and may … impair our ability to continue to produce,” LaSorda said. The company has about 9,000 workers in Canada, where it operates three facilities in Ontario.
