Chrysler to cut 1,825 jobs by eliminating one shift

DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler LLC will cut 1,825 jobs by eliminating one shift at a Toledo Jeep plant and accelerating the closure of its sport utility vehicle factory in Newark, Del., because of the slowing global economy and a shift toward smaller vehicles.

About 825 workers at the Toledo North Assembly Plant will be laid off indefinitely as of Dec. 31. The Newark closure also will be effective at the end of the year and affect about 1,000 jobs, the company said Thursday in a news release.

The cuts are about 6 percent of Chrysler’s U.S. hourly work force of 33,000.

The Toledo factory makes the Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty. Both have been selling slowly this year due to high gas prices and a slowing U.S. economy.

The Newark plant makes the slow-selling Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen sport utility vehicles. It originally was expected to close at the end of 2009.

Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler said in a statement that the changes will adjust inventory to better match consumer demand. Through the first nine months of the year, the company’s U.S. sales have fallen 25 percent from the same period last year, the largest decline of any major automaker.

“The markets are facing unprecedented turmoil and we are in a time of historic change in the auto industry,” said, Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler’s executive vice president of manufacturing. “These tough, but necessary steps are vital to our long-term viability.”

The privately held company said it would work with the United Auto Workers union to handle the layoffs in a “socially responsible manner.”

The company in the past has offered buyout and early retirement programs to workers affected by plant slowdowns and closures.

Chrysler spokesman Ed Saenz said the Toledo North plant now is operating on two shifts. It has a total of 2,100 employees, 1,800 of whom are blue-collar.

Neither of its vehicles is selling well. Through September, Chrysler has sold 30,071 Nitros this year — 46 percent fewer than a year ago. Liberty sales of 54,293 are off 21 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

The second shift at the Toledo assembly plant will be eliminated, said Jeep UAW leader Dan Henneman. “We pretty much knew it was coming,” he said. “The orders since June have drastically gone down.”

Just two years ago, about 750 jobs were added at the plant as production began on the Nitro. But the sport utility vehicle never took off, and Chrysler eliminated the third shift at the Toledo North assembly plant last November.