FORMER Chrysler chairman and chief executive Robert Eaton is to quit as co-chairman of DaimlerChrysler next month. Appointed with ex-Daimler chief Juergen Schrempp to jointly oversee the companies' merger, he had been expected to retire in 2001.

A company spokesman said Eaton's earlier departure did not mean a change of global strategy, nor would it affect DaimlerChrysler's UK operations. Schrempp will continue as sole chairman.