Trenton approves breaks for Chrysler to keep old plant active

The City of Trenton has approved a deal which will help Chrysler to re-open part of the now-closed Trenton Engine plant which recently made the 3.3 and 3.8 liter V6. Initially, Chrysler will use 350,000 square feet of the building to make parts for the Pentastar V6, which reportedly are currently made by a Mexican contractor. Thus, around 260 jobs would be moved from Mexico to Trenton, Michigan, with the possibility that Chrysler could use the rest of the plant for more parts or, possibly, to add another Pentastar V6 line; 2 million square feet remain unused.

The Pentastar V6 is made in a second plant on the property along Van Horn Road. The old plant was originally not scheduled to close before 2014. The Pentastar V6 is to be used in the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, and eventually will make its way to the Jeep Liberty and Ram trucks.

According to “superduckie,” the Council took roughly 12 minutes to introduce and approve the deal, which involves a $114 million investment by Chrysler. “It took longer for them to shake hands afterwards.”