UAW, Politicos Rally to Keep Jeep Production in Toledo

Union and state political representatives are launching a coordinated effort to retain production of the Jeep Wrangler in Toledo, Ohio.

The initiative is in response to comments in early October by Chrysler Fiat Automobiles NV CEO Sergio Marchionne suggesting Wrangler output will be moved to another factory after more than 70 years in Toledo.

Marchionne said in January that Wrangler operations would not move from Toledo as long as he was CEO. But less than three weeks ago he told reporters at the Paris auto show that meeting future fuel economy targets would probably force FCA to shift the Wrangler from its traditional body-on-frame architecture to a carlike unitized construction and perhaps a transition from steel to aluminum bodywork.

Retooling Toledo for those changes would be "outrageously expensive" and "impossible," he declared. Marchionne then suggested Wrangler output might move to another factory already configured for unitized body manufacturing.

Some observers consider Marchionne's comment an effort to win labor and tax incentives from the United Auto Workers, Toledo and the state of Ohio. They note he has made similar comments about relocating production from Fiat factories in Italy and more recently the Chrysler minivan plant in Ontario.