Chrysler news

Chrysler Canada has been forced to slow down auto production significantly here because of a dispute with U.S. parts supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc. The automaker confirmed yesterday it started cutting output by about half at its Brampton and Windsor plants during the morning shifts because of the dispute.

Ed Saenz, Chrysler’s corporate communications manager, said the company will be able to operate the two plants on four-hour shifts until the end of the week before completely running out of parts if there is no resolution to the dispute with Plastech, based outside Detroit. Chrysler terminated all its contracts with Plastech on Friday, before Plastech filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chrysler claimed in documents filed with the U.S.

Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Michigan that Plastech can no longer meet its production demands. Saenz said the disruption is adversely affecting about 5,000 workers in Windsor and another 4,000 in Brampton who will receive about 80 per cent of their regular pay until full production resumes. The slower production will mean a volume reduction of several hundred vehicles daily at both plants. Chrysler said it would recover the lost output later.

Chrysler builds cars including Chrysler 300 sedans, Charger sports cars and Magnum wagons in Brampton and Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country minivans in Windsor. Parent Chrysler LLC has also halted production entirely at four assembly plants in the U.S. and could soon curb more output unless there is a resolution to the impasse. The automaker is also seeking the tools used by Plastech, which are owned by Chrysler, to make the components.