Chrysler Group confirmed news from earlier this week about its planned investment in three Michigan facilities. The company will invest nearly USD250m and add 1,250 jobs while boosting production of engines and pick-up trucks. Of the total, USD198m is going to the Mack I Engine Plant in Detroit to add production of the Pentastar V6 and create 250 jobs. A third shift is going into the Warren Truck Assembly plant to boost production of the Ram 1500, bringing in 1,000 new jobs, and USD40m is earmarked for Trenton North Engine Plant, which will add a flex line that can produce both the Pentastar V6 and the Tigershark four-cylinder engines. "Today is another important milestone in living up to the commitment we made more than three and half years ago to our employees, this city, this region and our country to transform this company," CEO Sergio Marchionne said, as quoted by the Detroit News, at a ceremony announcing the investments.
Significance: The company has added nearly 6,000 new jobs since emerging from bankruptcy, according to Marchionne, and has invested over USD4.75bn in facilities in the US. Much of that investment has been throughout the American Midwest, a factor that became extremely important in the recent US Presidential election, as the salvation of the auto industry by President Barack Obama administration became one of the key reasons Obama won several "swing vote" states. Chrysler is about to begin expanding its offerings based on Fiat underpinnings, with the next product slated to be shown at January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit—an expected replacement for the Jeep Liberty that takes a more "soft roader" approach.
