Chrysler to idle Mack II plant (update)
Detroit News reported that Chrysler will idle the Mack II Engine Plant on September 9, when the 3.7-liter V-6 engine built there goes out of production.
According to the article, all 182 UAW workers currently employed at the plant will be offered new positions in the company.
The 3.7-liter engine, used for the Jeep Liberty and Ram 1500, will be replaced by the Pentastar V-6 built at the Trenton and Saltillo Engine plants.
The Detroit Free Press wrote last year that the Mack Avenue II plant might be used for final assembly of the upcoming Maserati Kubang SUV.
According to the Freep, workers at UAW Local 51 were told that, if the plan is approved, the Kubang’s body would be assembled at Jefferson North while workers at the Mack Avenue plant would install the interior, engine and trim. However, with this latest action, Chrysler seems to be ruling out that possibility, calling the Mack plant layoffs “permanent.”
