Chrysler to cut jobs at engine plant

Chrysler to cut jobs at engine plant

	Published : Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:06 By : Agencies Print this Story

DETROIT (AFX) - About 250 workers at a Chrysler Group plant that makes V-8 engines will be furloughed next week as the company reduces engine production to match truck manufacturing cuts, a company official said.

The job cuts at the Mack Avenue Engine 1 plant in Detroit come as the struggling company is studying all of its operations as part of a restructuring plan that will include more job cuts and plant closures. Details of the full plan are to be made public when DaimlerChrysler AG releases its 2006 earnings in February.

The plant makes Chrysler's 4.7-liter V-8 that is used mainly in the slow-selling Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander and Dodge Dakota.

The company announced in September that it would cut production by 135,000 vehicles, or 16 percent, in the second half of last year.

Most of the reduction was in truck-based vehicles, and many of those are powered by the V-8 that the Mack Engine 1 plant makes, said the official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak about the cuts.

Chrysler spokeswoman Michele Tinson said the company could not comment on the cutbacks.

'We are basically reviewing all of our operations. It's not unusual for us to analyze plant efficiencies or optimization levels,' she said.

The cuts, reported Tuesday by The Detroit News, will trim the work force at Mack Engine 1 from 780 to about 530.

A spokesman for the United Auto Workers union, which represents workers at the plant, would not comment.

Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Tom LaSorda has said that trucks and bigger sport utility vehicles historically have accounted for more than 70 percent of Chrysler's U.S. sales. So the company has been hit harder than any other manufacturer as consumers shift toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, he said.

Chrysler is rolling out more fuel-efficient car-based vehicles as well as a new line of minivans.

Industry analysts have predicted up to two plant closures as Chrysler Group moves to stem losses. The company lost $1.5 billion in the third quarter, and its sales were down 7 percent for the year.