MARCHIONNE REVERED AS AUTO INDUSTRY HERO
Man who led Chrysler, Fiat dies from post-surgery complications
Windsor in 2009 was a city in economic despair and its largest employer, Chrysler, was on the verge of collapse.
That’s when Sergio Marchionne, then CEO of Italian automaker Fiat, stepped up with a plan to acquire the bankrupt auto company, with an ownership trifecta of Fiat, the UAW and government. The move made him a hero within the auto industry and a saviour locally. “It’s a miracle story,” said Ken Lewenza Sr., retired national president for the Canadian Auto Workers. “If Chrysler and all the spinoff jobs would have been lost at that time, the city of Windsor would be a ghost town today. We shouldn’t kid anybody about that.” Marchionne made bold, tough decisions, Lewenza said, and it’s only because of his great work ethic and foresight “that today we have full employment and significant investment at the Windsor Assembly Plant.”
Lewenza was one of many local industry and community leaders struggling with emotions Wednesday following news of Marchionne’s sudden death at the age of 66 after complications following shoulder surgery.
Windsor never seemed to stray far from the heart of Marchionne, who graduated from the University of Windsor with a bachelor of commerce degree in 1979, an MBA in 1983 and honorary doctor of laws degree in 2005.
Lewenza said he spent many days close to Marchionne during that tense period in 2009 that gained nationwide attention. Lewenza had taken over as CAW national president and for several months spent more time with and talking to the auto boss from Italy “than my own partner.”
What emerged was a changed mindset among the unionized workforce under Lewenza to adjust its demands to Chrysler’s financial realities. With that in hand, Marchionne was able to secure significant loans from both the Canadian and U.S. governments that kept the automaker — and Windsor alive. “He brought us back from the brink,” said Dave Cassidy, union president for Unifor Local 444 which represents over 6,000 employees at FCA’s Windsor Assembly Plant. “We all owe him a debt of gratitude. He took over Chrysler, reached out to the governments and made things come to fruition.”
Marchionne was “this generation’s Lee Iacocca,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association. “This is a tragic loss of an automotive giant,” he said.
“If Chrysler had gone belly up, the hole in Windsor would have been tremendous. I’m not sure Windsor would look the same today if not for (Marchionne’s) ongoing commitment several times over to the Windsor Assembly Plant.”
Marchionne at the age of 14 moved to Toronto from Italy with his family.
Volpe said he is an alumni of the same Toronto high school that Marchionne also attended — St. Michael’s — and noted that the global auto industry kingpin, with his trademark cardigan sweaters, on occasion had no qualms about returning and speaking to the school’s teenagers on career days. But Volpe also described the former FCA boss as “relentless and tough” in his own dealings and professional vantage point.
He stepped in (in 2008), said ‘I can do something’ and saved Chrysler. He completely turned the company around.
“He was no Mother Teresa, that’s for sure. But the Windsor Assembly Plant owes a lot of its current status to his vision,” Volpe said. “If that domino had fallen, how many other dominoes would have fallen?”
Dino Chiodo, national auto director for Unifor, who also represented Chrysler workers during Marchionne’s tenure, described him as an “individual sharp with his questions and demanding of honest answers.”
“He was direct with what he wanted to know,” Chiodo said. “He knew the business and changed the industry. He was a leader and someone everybody looked up to whenever he spoke about where the industry was going and about cars.
“He was one-of-a-kind and is going to be truly missed in the auto sector. This is a man who devoted his life to making things better for people and it’s very tragic for his family and for everyone how he is gone in a flash.”
Mayor Drew Dilkens described Marchionne’s passing as a “very sad day ” both for the auto industry and Windsor.
“He stepped in (in 2008), said ‘I can do something’ and saved Chrysler,” the mayor said. “He completely turned the company around. He saved thousands of jobs, including in Windsor.” A followup decision in 2015 to create the Pacifica platform and FCA’s commitment to invest $2 billion — the company’s largest ever in North America — at the local assembly plant was yet another “game changer” for the city and local economy, Dilkens said. “The impact that has had for Windsor and all the spinoff jobs at supply plants has been remarkable,” he said. “(Marchionne) knew it was a good investment for the company because of the quality of work people at the plant do on a daily basis, but he also understood Windsor, went to school here and appreciated the spirit of the people.” University of Windsor’s interim president Douglas Kneale described Marchionne as a “great friend, supporter and mentor for students” at the school. He created partnerships through the years between the automaker and the university’s automotive research and development centre, dealing frequently with faculty and students, he said. Marchionne’s last public appearance at the school was in 2016 at the Odette business school’s leadership symposium, Kneale said. “He spoke, then spent a great deal of time afterwards just talking with the students,” he said. “The most memorable thing was when he told the students that the best years of his life were during his time at the University of Windsor. For someone who travelled the world as he did, our students and faculty really appreciated that.” Fiat Chrysler on the weekend named Jeep division boss Michael Manley as the company ’s new CEO to replace Marchionne. Cassidy expressed confidence Wednesday the Windsor Assembly Plant’s future will remain secure for years given how it was prominent in FCA’s five-year plan, which was released in June and ended up being one of Marchionne’s final company tasks. “(Manley) was part of the decision-making on that,” Cassidy said. “Things are going well here. They know there is top quality coming out of the facility and whatever task they put us up to we will handle it.”
The Local 444 leader expressed greater concern over the impact of looming 25 per cent tariffs on the auto industry, being threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump. Dilkens indicated city officials have no concerns over the company’s future commitment to Windsor.
“We won’t sit back and will make sure we are doing everything we can to support our biggest employer,” he said. Lewenza emphasized that Marchionne should also be credited with ensuring a healthy pension fund would be protected for the company’s 6,000 retirees in this area.
Pensions were threatened to be significantly reduced a decade ago had Chrysler gone bankrupt, he said.
“Mr. Marchionne loved his job and lived it 24-7,” Lewenza said. “What I will remember is how he always empowered people to be better, he made us a better representative for our members. “God bless him — that’s the bottom line.”