North American factories traditionally shut down for a week or two in the summer as equipment is updated for new vehicle models, but this year was the first time that all employees, including salaried, were affected. 'With this early notification, the intent is for the majority of employees to take this time off to improve on the efficiencies achieved in 2008,' Nancy Rae, executive vice president for human resources, said in an e-mail to Chrysler employees. Chrysler has said this year's required vacation time was not a cost-saving measure, but an attempt to become more efficient. But industry analysts said cost savings were probably a factor. Rae said in the e-mail that early notification for next year would help employees make plans. Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan confirmed that the e-mail was sent Wednesday. She said the company saved a small amount of money in reduced energy use due to the shutdown, but said efficiency was the main reason for the mandatory leave. The company, Morgan said, held focus groups of employees and determined that there were efficiency gains. Among those gains is that project schedules stayed on track. With workers taking vacations simultaneously, one part of a project did not get out of sync because one team advanced farther than others, Morgan said. 'They were able to identify how it did make sense,' she said. 'You didn't get people ahead of one another.' The company has not yet determined whether it will extend the mandatory vacation weeks beyond 2009, Morgan said. Chrysler has 63,627 employees worldwide, with 45,098 hourly workers and 18,529 salaried.