Business

Actions

Chrysler To Offer Employees Free Ride To College

Chrysler is reportedly offering its full-time and part-time employees free tuition to for-profit Strayer University.
Posted

If you're a current or potential Chrysler employee, you're in luck because the car company is about to sweeten the deal.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Monday a plan to offer free college tuition at Strayer University to all of its U.S. dealership employees.

That includes employees of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat dealerships — 118,000 employees overall.

The program is reportedly open to all full-time and part-time employees after they've worked there 30 days — offering to pay for associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees through Strayer.

A for-profit college, Virginia's Strayer offers classes online and through any of its 77 campuses.

Chrysler CEO Al Gardner tells NBC News the new program is about retaining employees in a tightening job market:

"With the increasing cost of a college education, offering free college degrees without the burden of debt presents a significant value that we are pleased to provide and that differentiates us from our competitors. It will certainly help us attract and retain strong talent."

According to Fortune, the retention rate of Chrysler's showrooms is currently about 45 percent to 60 percent.

Chrysler's new program follows a similar one rolled out by Starbucks. The company introduced a reimbursement plan through Arizona State University last month. (Video via WRTV)

Fiat Chrysler's tuition program is set to roll out to 356 dealerships Monday before spreading to all of the company's U.S. dealerships later this year.

This video includes an image from Getty Images.