Chrysler to Idle Jefferson North, Windsor

Chrysler LLC reportedly will idle production at its Jefferson North plant in Detroit and minivan plant in Windsor, ON, Canada, for two weeks in January.

Beginning Jan. 14, unions officials tell The Detroit News Jefferson North, home of the Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee SUVs, will be down for three weeks, while the Windsor Assembly Plant, which builds the recently redesigned Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans, is closing for two weeks.

Chrysler reportedly also has told workers that Jefferson North will lose its second shift beginning Feb. 4, a move first reported by Ward's in November.

Ward's data shows Jefferson North production plunged 31.9% in November vs. year-ago, while Windsor output fell 11.1% in the same period.

Cross-town rival Ford Motor Co. also is idling assembly lines to reduce inventories, with its Dearborn, MI, and Louisville, KY, plants, which build the F-150 fullsize pickup truck and Explorer SUV, closing two weeks ahead of the traditional holiday break.

While production at the Dearborn plant rose 60.5% in November compared with year-ago, output at Louisville slipped 9.4% last month, Ward's data shows.