Pandemic slows reopening of Fiat Chrysler factory in Indiana
December 21, 2020 GMT
KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) Fiat Chrysler has pushed back the reopening of a shuttered Indiana factory until late 2021, blaming delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Company officials had announced in March a $400 million plan to convert a Kokomo transmission factory so that it could begin engine production within the first three months of 2021.
That reopening has been delayed until 2021’s last quarter, in part because of the company’s eight-week shutdown earlier this year, Fiat Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson told the Kokomo Tribune.
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Older equipment has been removed from the factory and interior walls and offices torn down as part of the conversion project, Tinson said. Steel is being raised to add a 30,000-square-foot (2,787-square-meter) addition to provide more manufacturing space.
Dec 21, 2020
FCA announces their investment of $400 million to convert the ITP II plant into an engine assembly plant while also changing the name to Kokomo Engine Plant or KEP in this March 5, 2020, photo. Tim Bath | Kokomo Tribune
The opening of Fiat Chrysler Automobilesâ Kokomo Engine Plant has been pushed back to the end of 2021 due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Company officials in March first announced the plant would open sometime in the first three months of 2021. Now, that date has been delayed to the last three months of next year.
Jodi Tinson, FCAâs communications director for manufacturing and labor, said in an email the retiming of the opening was due to the company shuttering for about 8 weeks earlier this year due to the pandemic.
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