Campaigns class markets image of national corporation
DaimlerChrysler faces 26,000 job cuts, projected $1.3 billion loss

By LaNasha Houze
Staff Reporter

Following the announcement that DaimlerChrysler Corporation will cut its workforce by 20 percent, the TCU campaigns class has an even more challenging task on its hands.

This year the DaimlerChrysler Corporation is sponsoring the National Student Advertising Competition in which the campaigns class participates. Mike Wood, adjunct professor for the campaigns class, said students are asked to market a positive image campaign and create awareness about the company’s merger.

Tracy Rafales, a junior advertising/public relations major who participates in the class, said news of the cut backs adds just one more issue to an already complex situation.

Stockholders and employees were unhappy with the Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merger in 1998 due to the differences in the company design and management planning, Rafales said.

“The company cutting back on employees will definitely not improve morale,” she said. “This is a step in the wrong direction for the DaimlerChrysler company.”

The objective of the National Student Advertising Competition is to achieve the president’s goal of a more unified company, and she said bridging the gap between the upper-class Mercedes and the middle-class Chrysler is difficult enough.

“This will make the job of the public relations team more stressful,” Rafales said.

Dieter Zetche, president of DaimlerChrysler, said Monday in the Washington Post the corporation will make 26,000 job cuts over three years. Due to the slow auto market, the corporation lost $1.762 billion in the second half of 2000 and is projecting a loss of $1.3 billion for January through March. Detroit’s Mound Road engine plant and five other plants in Mexico and Brazil will be closed.

“Part of this process may be painful for many people,” Zetche said in the Washington Post. “However, we need to be a more nimble company, more closely aligned with current and future market conditions.”

Wood said that despite the cut backs, the class should still be able to develop a positive image for the corporation.
“Our job is to promote DaimlerChrysler as a strong company,” said Wood. “I have the caliber of people that will not be affected by this change and will continue to focus on the ultimate goal of winning the competition.”

Andrew Delatorre, a senior advertising/public relations major, said layoffs reflect the company’s necessity for change, and the campaigns class is part of that process.

“The layoffs will obviously inhibit morale of the employees and public,” Delatorre said. “Plus, there can’t be too many college students working for the company. This contest will give DaimlerChrysler a new perspective on how to achieve their goal as a top performer.”

LaNasha Houze
l.d.houze@student.tcu.edu