Illinois assembly plant building Dodge Dart to add 1,800 jobs

Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne announces that the Belvidere Assembly Plant in northern Illinois will begin a third shift as its starts production of the company's new small car, the Dodge Dart. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

BELVIDERE, Ill. -- Chrysler said Thursday it plans to add 1,800 jobs at its Belvidere Assembly Plant to build the Dodge Dart this year.

"You are the new Chrysler," Fiat and Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne told workers at the plant.

Chrysler had said it would add 400 to 500 workers to two existing shifts. Thursday was the first time the company released the total employment number.

About 2,700 now work at the plant assembling the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot. When the workers are added, it will be the first time since 2008 that the plant operates three shifts.

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Chrysler said at a news conference at the sprawling plant that about 500 of the new employees will work on the Dart while the others will work on the Compass and Patriot. All are expected to be hired by the third quarter of this year.

The plant creates hundreds of other jobs at nearby parts suppliers and other vendors.

The job news should provide both financial and psychological boosts to a region -- including nearby Rockford -- more accustomed to headlines about layoffs, closures, and large numbers of unemployed residents.

Mr. Marchionne acknowledged the area's struggles when he spoke to several hundred workers at the plant.

Workers in Belvidere, Ill., listen as Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reveals plans to add 1,800 employees there. 'You are the new Chrysler,' he said. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

Chrysler laid off almost 1,000 employees in Belvidere in 2008 before emerging from bankruptcy with new owners. Unemployment in Boone County, where the plant is located, was a state-high 14 percent in December.

The jobs are connected to a package of more than $60 million in state tax breaks and other incentives given to Chrysler in 2010.

At least one employee, while thankful for good news, was skeptical about the long-term impact on high local unemployment.

"I'd like to see more," said Art Nemmers, 58, a 14-year plant veteran. "This is a drop in the ocean."

But a spokesman for the state Department of Employment Security, which administers unemployment benefits, said putting well over 1,000 back to work is meaningful for the local economy.

"These are real dollars being spent in real diners and real taverns and real grocery stores," the spokesman, Greg Rivaram, said.

The work force in the area numbers about 167,000 -- and 23,000 are out of work .

Chrysler's Belvidere plant opened in 1965 and has long been a cornerstone of the Belvidere and Rockford communities.

Now the plant's future rests on the success of the Dodge Dart, arguably the most important car Chrysler has launched since the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The compact sedan is expected to be the first credible small car for any Chrysler brand in years; Chrysler discontinued the Dodge Neon in 2005.

It also is the first car to combine Fiat and Chrysler technology. It is built on a widened and lengthened version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

The Dart is scheduled to go on sale this spring.

It was revealed at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month.