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Chrysler plant reopens, for now
By Angela Tablac/St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MCT)
More than 660 workers returned to the Chrysler pickup plant in Fenton on Monday, ending a temporarily layoff that started nearly two months ago.
But the plant's restart will be short-lived.
Chrysler Group LLC intends to end production indefinitely at the facility after the end of the shift on July 10. Most of the workers will be laid off, said Don Ackermann, president of United Auto Workers Local 136, which represents the pickup plant workers.
Between Monday and July 10, about 430 Dodge Ram pickups will be built, Ackermann said. More than 660 workers will be at the plant this week, he added, but the numbers will decrease throughout the next two weeks.
"As the build-out winds down, there'll be more and more people leaving the facility," he said.
A small maintenance crew will remain, but Ackermann did not know how many workers would be included or how long the crew would be needed.
Along with the Fenton plant, six other Chrysler assembly plants -- in Michigan, Ohio, Canada and Mexico -- reopened Monday, company spokesman Max Gates said. The facilities had been closed since May 1, a day after Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy reorganization. A new company called Chrysler Group LLC, with most of the automaker's assets, emerged from bankruptcy court earlier this month.
Ackermann plans to hold informational meetings on Wednesday for his members and answer questions about the upcoming layoffs.
Wednesday also is the day when Chrysler and General Motors Corp. retirees lose dental and eye care benefits, among other health care coverage changes outlined in recently revised UAW agreements.
To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Subscribe To Lake AlertsBut the plant's restart will be short-lived.
Chrysler Group LLC intends to end production indefinitely at the facility after the end of the shift on July 10. Most of the workers will be laid off, said Don Ackermann, president of United Auto Workers Local 136, which represents the pickup plant workers.
Between Monday and July 10, about 430 Dodge Ram pickups will be built, Ackermann said. More than 660 workers will be at the plant this week, he added, but the numbers will decrease throughout the next two weeks.
"As the build-out winds down, there'll be more and more people leaving the facility," he said.
A small maintenance crew will remain, but Ackermann did not know how many workers would be included or how long the crew would be needed.
Along with the Fenton plant, six other Chrysler assembly plants -- in Michigan, Ohio, Canada and Mexico -- reopened Monday, company spokesman Max Gates said. The facilities had been closed since May 1, a day after Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy reorganization. A new company called Chrysler Group LLC, with most of the automaker's assets, emerged from bankruptcy court earlier this month.
Ackermann plans to hold informational meetings on Wednesday for his members and answer questions about the upcoming layoffs.
Wednesday also is the day when Chrysler and General Motors Corp. retirees lose dental and eye care benefits, among other health care coverage changes outlined in recently revised UAW agreements.
To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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