The Twinsburg plant is one of five the bankrupt automaker plans to close next year. Chrysler is forming a new company with Italy’s Fiat, and the doomed plants are among eight the company is not including in the deal. The plants will be leased to the new company and then closed.
Twinsburg Mayor Katherine Procop says she was blindsided by the news this morning, finding out from someone in Michigan asking her how she felt about the news. Just the day before, she had heard hopeful signs from Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli that the plant was a part of the company’s post-bankruptcy future. The bankruptcy filing tells another story, though, and now Mayor Procop is figuring out where the city and its workers go from here.
PROCOP: This is the biggest deal we’ve ever faced in the city of Twinsburg. Chrysler has been with us for 50 years. They built the city of Twinsburg from a rural community to a very vibrant, healthy, exciting community.
Following the bankruptcy filing, Chrysler already planned a 60-day shutdown of the plant. While the court documents make it seem all but certain that the Twinsburg facility’s days are numbered, Chrysler said in a statement that it’s premature to speculate on the future of the plants. The company also says employees at closed plants would be offered jobs elsewhere in the company.