Chrysler's looming shake-up has engine workers on edge

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

"It's a somber mood," says Terry Ammons, a worker at Mack I, where the factory's work force has dropped to 530 from 780. "It's a helpless kind of feeling."

Chrysler's looming shake-up has engine workers on edge

Josee Valcourt / The Detroit News

Robin Buckson / The Detroit News

Arvelle Alexander says he thinks he will work at the plant for a while. Chrysler is preparing to announce major downsizing Feb. 14 that is expected to include plant closures and job and production cuts. See full image

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DETROIT -- At Chrysler's two engine plants on Detroit's east side, production has declined and so has workers' confidence in their future.

The president of United Auto Workers Local 51, which represents about 1,500 workers at Chrysler's Mack I and Mack II engine plants, sent a sobering three-page letter to his members late last week.

"Unfortunately most of the news is not very good news for us in UAW Local 51," Lorenzo Poole wrote in the letter obtained by The Detroit News. "We have been bombarded with massive layoffs at Mack I and tons of rumors and uncertainty at Mack II."

The factory workers are on edge as the Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group, a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, prepares to announce a major downsizing Feb. 14 that is expected to include plant closings, production slowdowns and job cuts.

"It's a somber mood," Terry Ammons, a worker at Mack I and a Detroit resident, said Monday afternoon before pulling out of the factory's mostly vacant parking lot. "It's a helpless kind of feeling."

The engine plant complex on Mack Avenue could find itself in the cross hairs of Chrysler's restructuring. And Poole offered the workers scant reassurance that their place in the global auto industry is secure.

"The Chinese are coming" he wrote, referring to a deal between Chrysler and China's Chery Motors -- "and our German parent company probably wishes that they never took us over, or merged."

At Mack I, 250 workers who were laid off indefinitely filled out unemployment paperwork and cleaned out their lockers last week.

"It's just hard for me to realize that I wasn't going back to work today," said Joe Wisniewski, one of the laid off workers. "I kind of looked up and it was almost 3 p.m. and I just said, 'This is how it's going to be. I'm not going to work today and I'm not going to work tomorrow.'"

Daily production of the 4.7-liter engines at Mack 1 has fallen to 850 engines from 1,350, and the factory's work force has dropped to 530 from 780.

"With the industry conditions, there is no guarantee when these members will work for DaimlerChrysler again," Poole wrote.

At Mack II where smaller 3.7-liter V-6 engines are assembled, production is expected to tumble to 1,400 from 1,600 units produced daily, according to the letter.

Both plants make engines for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Commander, Jeep Liberty, Dodge Durango, Dodge Dakota and Dodge Ram -- vehicles that were overbuilt last year and piled up in lots around Metro Detroit as Chrysler tried to reduce its truck-laden inventory.

"Long-term future for both plants continues to be our main concern as we await the DaimlerChrysler restructuring plan that is promised by (Chrysler CEO) Tom LaSorda," wrote Poole, who couldn't be reached for comment.

Chrysler on Monday issued what's become a standard response to questions about possible plant closings.

"We continue to evaluate our operations in an effort to remain competitive," said spokeswoman Michelle Tinson. "As stated previously, the company will announce restructuring actions aimed at sustainable growth once approved by the board of management."

Workers at the Mack complex are keenly aware their future is clouded by a consumer shift toward smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. "We're at the mercy of the economy of the American consumer," Ammons said. "If you buy a truck or SUV, we're in business. If you don't then the production count goes down and they're going to have to do further cuts."

Chrysler saw sales of its light trucks -- SUVs, pickups and minivans -- fall 8.4 percent in 2006, according to AutoData Corp.

The Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, is trying to rebound from a $1.5 billion loss in the third quarter of last year and an expected $1.2 billion full-year loss.

Until then, a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the engine complex on Detroit's east side.

Personally, Ammons, who was laid off in the late 1980s when Chrysler closed its Lynch Road engine plant, doesn't feel his own job is at risk. His 33 years of seniority has afforded him the chance to retire if more layoffs are announced or if plants are closed.

But he worries for his co-workers, especially younger workers with families and mortgages.

"There's a bond between us," said Ammons, recounting the eight-hour shifts and overtime weekends spent with colleagues. "You definitely have some feelings as far as when that person is losing their job."

The Mack complex traces its roots back to 1916 when it was opened by the Michigan Stamping Co. Chrysler bought the plant in 1953 and made car bodies there until its financial crisis in 1979 forced it to close the facility.

In the mid-1990s, Chrysler invested hundreds of millions of dollars to revamp the facility for engine production. Mack I opened in 1998 and Mack II started production two years later.

Poole told workers that the union membership is "in for the fight of our lives and our jobs (literally) in the year of 2007! All we can do is continue to come to work daily and continue to produce a quality product."

To boost employee morale amid the uncertainty, the engine plants' walls are festooned with posters inscribed with inspirational messages about striving to be the best and quality assurance.

A banner hangs above the doors inside Mack I that reads, "The people that walk through these doors are our most valued assets."