May 14, 2009 11:05 am US/Eastern
Chrysler To Close Several Local Dealerships
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Chrysler wants to shut down 789 of its 3,200 dealerships across the country - and several of them are in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
In a
bankruptcy court filing Thursday, the troubled automaker said its network is antiquated and has too many stores competing with each other.
Read: The Complete Chrysler List
12 Chrysler dealers in Massachusetts, six in New Hampshire, and one in Rhode Island have been targeted for closure as part of the restructuring.
MASSACHUSETTS
- TARBOX CHRYSLER JEEP, Attleboro
- SOUTH SHORE CHRYSLER, Braintree
- WESTMINSTER DODGE, Dorchester
- TRI-STATE DODGE, Dudley
- STAGG CHEVROLET, East Harwich
- MIDWAY MOTORS, Framingham
- SULLIVAN BROS CHRYSLER DODGE, Kingston
- MELROSE AND WELLESLEY DODGE, Melrose
- SEACOAST MOTORS OF SALISBURY, Salisbury
- PRIDE CHRYSLER JEEP, Seekonk
- MOTOR MART DODGE, South Attleboro
- WESTBORO DODGE, Westboro
NEW HAMPSHIRE
- LAKES CHRYSLER JEEP LIMITED, Belmont
- CARLSONS MOTOR SALES, Concord
- MEDLYN MOTOR INC., Milford
- ROBERTS CHRYSLER-JEEP-DODGE, Peterborough
- ROCHESTER LINCOLN-MERCURY, Rochester
- GIL'S JEEP, Stratham
RHODE ISLAND
- TARBOX MOTORS, North Kingstown
The dealerships sell Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.
The move, which the dealers can appeal, is likely to cause devastating affects in cities and towns across the country as thousands of jobs are lost and taxes are not paid.
WHY ARE THEY CLOSING?
The company, in a motion filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, said many of the dealers' sales are too low.
Just over 50 percent of the dealers account for about 90 percent of the company's U.S. sales, the motion said.
GM NEXT
Chrysler dealerships aren't the only ones scheduled to get bad news this week.
General Motors says it is notifying 1,100 dealers that it will not renew their franchise agreements when they expire at the end of September of 2010.
Chrysler has received $4 billion in federal loans and has been operating in bankruptcy protection since April 30.
Its sales this year are down 46 percent compared with the first four months of last year and it reported a $16.8 billion net loss for 2008.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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