Chrysler poised to hire

• Tweet

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Chrysler Group LLC is set to hire 1,600 workers in Illinois, sources told the Chicago Tribune.

The move, to be announced Thursday, is the initial stage of a hiring spree expected to last three years, the sources said.

The first wave of hiring is being made to ramp up assembly of 2013 Dodge Darts, a compact car, as well as the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot, both of which are made at the plant.

Hiring is also expected to take place at the Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit and at a Toledo, Ohio, facility.

"We have to put in more than one shift in a variety of plants. If we're going to move up to producing 2.4 million cars, I need to make them somewhere. I mean I can't do it with the existing shift pattern. It's not as if I'm turning on more plants. I don't have any," Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a late 2011 interview.

While increasing production, Chrysler will keep costs down by using the 3-2-120 work schedule.

That refers to having three crews work two shifts that put in 120 hours in four 10-hour days.