http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01435.html
DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC plans temporarily to close four assembly plants and to shut down one shift at another due to the bankruptcy filing of one of its plastic parts suppliers, the automaker said Monday.
About 10,500 Chrysler employees will be affected by the plant closures and shift shutdown, spokesman Kevin Frazier said.
Chrysler said the plants are in Sterling Heights; Newark, Del.; Toledo, Ohio, and the Belvidere plant in Rockford, Ill.
The second shift at Toledo Supplier Park in Toledo will be dismissed, the automaker said in a statement Monday morning.
The closings are the result of Dearborn-based Plastech Engineered Products Inc.'s bankruptcy filing last week, spokeswoman Michelle Tinson said.
Frazier said Chrysler terminated its contracts with Plastech on Friday.
A message seeking comment from a Plastech spokesman was left Monday morning.
Plastech has 36 facilities and 7,600 employees in the United States and Canada.
The company makes engine covers, grill panels, moldings, metal stampings, door panels, floor consoles and safety restraint system components for Chrysler, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Co., according to the part supplier's Web site.
Ford is not planning any plant closures or shutdowns related to Plastech, Ford spokesman Todd Nissen said.
"We are working with Plastech to ensure there is an adequate supply of parts to our facilities," Nissen said. "We have not experienced any production losses, but we are continuing to closely monitor the situation."
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