DETROIT - CHRYSLER LLC said on Thursday it would cut up to 10,000 hourly jobs over the next 14 months as it slashes production in North America and eliminates four slow-selling vehicles.

The sweeping job cuts - representing more than one-fifth of Chrysler's unionised work force - came just four days after workers at the automaker narrowly ratified a new contract that had faced deep-seated opposition from the union rank and file.

The layoffs are in addition to 13,000 jobs that Chrysler had already planned to cut as part of a restructuring plan announced in February.

In total, the cuts mark the deepest job reductions undertaken by any of the embattled US automakers.

On a combined basis, the automaker now plans to cut almost half its unionised factory positions as part of a stepped-up restructuring plan that marked the most dramatic move since Chrysler's new private equity owner, Cerberus Capital Management, took control of the automaker in August.

Chrysler said it would eliminate shifts at five North American assembly plants and stop making the Dodge Magnum wagon, the convertible version of the PT Cruiser, the Pacifica crossover utility and the Crossfire sports car.

Dissidents within the United Auto Workers who had lobbied to scuttle the now-ratified Chrysler contract said the action by Cerberus had left workers angry with both union leadership and the automaker's new owners.

Analysts said the product portfolio shake-up would cut models that had lost their competitive edge, allowing Chrysler to cut incentive spending and smooth a boom-to-bust cycle that had dogged results under former parent Daimler AG.

Low-selling models get the boot
More Chrysler vehicles with lagging sales could be cut in the months ahead as new product chief Jim Press takes charge, said Jesse Toprak, analyst at industry-tracking Web site Edmunds.com.

'I think this is just the beginning of it,' Mr Toprak said. 'I think there are more models to be cut.'

In addition to the cuts in hourly jobs, Chrysler said it would cut 1,000 salaried jobs and eliminate almost 40 percent of its white-collar contract positions.

Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said the deep cuts were prompted by a downtrend in sales since February, when Chrysler announced an initial turnaround plan targeting a return to profitability by 2009.

'The market situation has changed dramatically,' Mr Nardelli said, adding that industry-wide auto sales were expected to be 'significantly lower' than the pace of early 2007.

Angry workers
The Chrysler contract was ratified last week by a narrow margin after facing widespread criticism for not going far enough to secure some pledge of job security like the kind the UAW won from General Motors Corp.

'There are a lot of very angry people, very upset, very sad,' said Michael Yanoulakis, an electrician at the assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

'The contract got ratified and we got burned.' Fitch Ratings Managing Director Mark Oline said the deep job cuts had the potential to complicate labour relations at both Chrysler and Ford Motor Co, which is locked in its own contract talks with the UAW. -- REUTERS