Fiat Chrysler plans extra down-time in January
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV on Friday said four U.S. factories and one in Canada will have down-time in January.
The automaker's Warren Truck plant in Michigan and Brampton Assembly plant in Ontario will go down Jan. 2-4 and for the week of Jan. 7 to "align production with demand" following previously scheduled annual downtime for the holidays, the automaker said.
Other plants will remain dark for retooling and maintenance: Fiat Chrysler's Jefferson North plant in Detroit will be down Jan. 2-5; Sterling Heights will be down Jan. 2-5 and the week of Jan. 7; and Toledo North will be down Jan. 11-18
All of the plants will resume normal operations after the scheduled down-times. The automaker also plans to run production at Toledo North on Dec. 27 and at Jefferson North on Dec. 23, 24, 27 and 28 — all days on which the automaker's plants would normally be closed for the holiday break.
The Fiat Chrysler plants going down to adjust production to meet demand, Brampton and Warren Truck, build the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger and Charger, and the previous generation Ram 1500, respectively.
Fiat Chrysler builds Jeep Wranglers in Toledo, and Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durangos at Jefferson North.
The news comes a week after The Detroit News reported Fiat Chrysler's plans to resurrect a defunct engine plant in Detroit to build an all-new Jeep product.
Fiat Chrysler, General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. all in recent weeks have announced internal moves to adjust production to meet demand as sales in the U.S. plateau after record years and U.S. consumers continue to pivot away from sedans and small cars.
GM in 2019 plans to idle four U.S. factories, affecting 2,800 workers. The automaker said Friday it has space in plants around the U.S. to which those employees can relocate.
Ford has adjusted production by moving employees from plants making under-performing products to nearby factories in need of more workers.
ithibodeau@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Ian_Thibodeau
Staff writer Nora Naughton contributed
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