Chrysler Group LLC has added more than 1,800 jobs this year at its Toledo Assembly Complex, a significant boost to the city’s economy that goes far beyond what the automaker promised two years ago when it announced it would expand here to prepare for a new model.
The plant, which has the capability to build more than 400,000 Jeeps annually, now has more employees than it has had at any time in the last decade.
Considering the economic meltdown that nearly killed the U.S. auto industry, that’s nothing short of amazing.
“The fact is we went from 17 million cars in 2007 down to 9 million when the bottom fell out,” said Bruce Baumhower, president of United Auto Workers Local 12, which represents workers at the Toledo plant. “Many people said we’ll never see a number like that again. This year the industry’s on pace to do 16.1 million. It's indicative of the entire industry coming back.”