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| Some DaimlerChrysler board members favour extending CEO contract
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (AFP) - Some members of DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board favour renewing the contract of CEO Jurgen Schrempp, in spite of the troubles the German-US automaker has encountered since the 1998 merger Schrempp masterminded, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The board has not formally discussed renewing Schrempp's contract, which expires in April 2005, but board chairman Hilmar Kopper told the daily that the opinions he was hearing were favourable to Schrempp. Adaptive intelligence for a serious advantage: business, investment and technology- BizVantage! "I feel more pressure by supervisory board members to influence Juergen to stay longer, rather than the other way around," Kopper told the Journal. Among those backing the CEO is Jurgen Langer, an employee representative on the board. "The US is a problem, but I think the strategy is right," he told the paper. Schrempp declined to say if he would agree to stay, but added "I'm very energetic. I'm in top shape. I have been here for more than 40 years. This is my life." Schrempp pioneered the 1998 merger of the German automaker with the Chrysler Group, which lost 930 million dollars in the first half of the year and is struggling to cut-cost its way back to profitability in the midst of a damaging US price war. Some analysts question the unit's ability to return to operating profitability as planned this year, while others point to the steep decline in DaimlerChrysler's stock market valuation since the merger -- down from 47 billion dollars then to 36 billion dollars now. ld/mdl US-DaimlerChrysler
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