DaimlerChrysler AG chief executive Dieter Zetsche said yesterday that the German-American automaker's profitability would continue to improve this year, providing a boost of optimism at the company's annual shareholder meeting.
"We've set ourselves challenging but realistic goals that we intend to achieve with the foreseeable future," he said in prepared remarks ahead of his speech to thousands of shareholders.
Zetsche didn't immediately disclose what this year's profit goal would be, but said a detailed outlook for the year would be unveiled on April 27.
He also said that the company's management and supervisory boards would propose that shareholders get a 1.50 euro (US$1.82) dividend per share for last year, the same amount that was paid in 2004.
Looking at job cuts, Zetsche said that some 6,000 administrative positions would be cut worldwide through this year and beyond, with executives in Germany offered early retirement and severance agreements.
He said that all workers who are under collective bargaining agreements would have those contracts honored, a signal that layoffs would not take place but that buyouts would.
"And we also realize that behind the numbers we are talking about are the lives of real people," he said. "We therefore regard it as our duty to make the necessary personnel cuts fairly."
He said that the cuts, part of the company's "New Management Model," would help make the company more competitive and enhance Germany's reputation as a place to do business.
"We are convinced that the New Management Model will help us to become better and faster at transforming DaimlerChrysler's potential into compelling products," Zetsche said.
Separately, the company will keep at least a 15 percent stake in EADS, Zetsche said, assuring shareholders that the major owner of Airbus remained important to the automaker.
"In 2005, EADS substantially exceeded its financial targets for the sixth year in a row. Its order volume has more than doubled -- partially due to the large demand for the Super Airbus A380," Zetsche said at DaimlerChrysler's annual shareholders meeting in the German capital. "We aim to support this growth and to remain a major shareholder with a stake of at least 15 percent."
Earlier this month, the German-American automaker and France's Lagardere SCA said they were scaling back their stakes in Franco-German group European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co by 7.5 percent each.
DaimlerChrysler currently holds 30 percent of EADS, while Lagardere holds 15 percent. The stakes are worth a combined 4.2 billion euros (US$5.15 billion). The French government owns 15 percent of EADS.
EADS, in turn, owns 80 percent of aircraft maker Airbus. British defense and aerospace group BAE Systems PLC holds the remaining 20 percent, but has said it is in talks with EADS to sell all of its stake.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a