Around 1,800 new jobs will be added to the Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant by the third quarter of 2012, the company’s CEO Sergio Marchionne announced on Thursday during a ceremony at the facility with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
Included in the 1,800 positions are close to 500 jobs that will be added to launch production of the 2013 Dodge Dart in the second quarter of the year. For this reason, the Detroit automaker will be adding a third shift to the plant, something that hasn’t happened since March of 2008 when the Belvidere facility employed around 3,600 workers.
With the newly created positions, the factory’s workforce will increase from 2,700 to more than 4,500.
“This announcement is proof that America’s auto industry is indeed back,” commented General Holiefield, Vice President of UAW Chrysler Department.
“With the continued commitment and hard work of its UAW-represented workers, Chrysler will continue to add more good manufacturing jobs and introduce more industry-leading vehicles, securing the future for the Company and its entire workforce.”
Along with the announcement on the new jobs, Marchionne revealed that the company’s previously announced $600 million investment plan in a new 638,000-square-foot body shop that includes the installation of new machinery, tooling and material handling equipment for the Dodge Dart, had grown to nearly $700 million.
