Chrysler ’s 789 eliminated dealers were dealt a final blow on Thursday as Judge Arthur Gonzalez sided with the automaker’s decision to eliminate nearly 25 percent of its dealer network. Gonzalez ruled there would be little need for the cut dealers on the other side of bankruptcy.
Those dealers earmarked for closure will be left in the ‘old’ Chrysler as the ‘new’ Chrysler emerges from Chapter 11 protection in the coming days. “Absent a car manufacturing business, the dealerships would not seem to serve any purpose for the debtor,” Gonzalez said.
However, those dealers marked for termination might be able to pursue damages, according to Automotive News.
Chrysler dealers argued the Michigan automaker used unsound business practices to decide which dealers stayed and which dealers got the boot. About 20 dealers were present to testify on Thursday. One Arkansas dealer even argued his store was “more profitable than both Chrysler and GM combined.”
With the Judge’s ruling officially in, those 789 dealers marker for closure have little recourse.
