Chrysler Bidder Kerkorian Reaches Out to UAW Members

Tracinda Corp. representatives are seeking a meeting with a Toledo-based group of Chrysler Group employees that is pitching a takeover of the auto maker.

Reports say Tracinda, led by gaming mogul Kirk Kerkorian, wants to explore whether the two camps can cooperate. Tracinda already has made a $4.5 billion offer to buy Chrysler from corporate parent DaimlerChrysler AG.

United Auto Workers members have put forward a proposal that would see employees buy Chrysler, confirms the union’s top executive.

Ron Gettelfinger, UAW president, tells Detroit radio station WJR the scenario is one of several that have been the source of “war room” discussions among union leaders.

“We haven’t ruled anything out,” Gettelfinger says.

But he suggests the idea has little momentum.

The employee buyout comes from a “very sketchy proposal” put forward by “a small group of people,” Gettelfinger says.

Chrysler is on the block because of its poor performance in 2006. Inventory woes, since resolved, contributed to a full-year $1.4 billion loss.

The UAW opposes DaimlerChrysler’s sale plans, preferring Chrysler remain part of the Stuttgart-based auto maker.