President to visit Jeep in North Toledo

The White House says the President will hear about the importance of the auto industry. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

Just over a week after Chrysler Group LLC paid off its federal bailout loan of $7.6 billion, President Obama Friday will tour Chrysler's Toledo Assembly complex to tout the success that the 2009 bailouts have spawned.

President Obama will arrive at Toledo Express Airport in the morning and around 1 p.m. will visit the North Toledo plant where the company makes Jeep Wranglers.

He will speak with plant workers, a White House official said. The assembly complex also makes Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro vehicles in a separate factory.

"The President will also hear firsthand from local business owners and residents about the importance of the auto industry resurgence to the community as a whole and the economic devastation it would have faced had Chrysler been allowed to fail," a White House official said.

The President's visit is not likely to include a long-overdue announcement of additional work or new products for Chrysler's Toledo Assembly complex.

In January, Sergio Marchionne, chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler and its Italian partner, Fiat SpA, said he anticipated an announcement involving Toledo "within six months." But there's no indication an announcement will be made during the President's visit.

The White House Wednesday released a report "The Resurgence of the American Automotive Industry," which explores the comeback of General Motors Co. and Chrysler from the brink of collapse.

The report said the President insisted the companies "develop more ambitious strategies to reduce costs and increase efficiencies to become more sustainable" in exchange for taxpayer support of both firms.

At least 1 million jobs would have been lost if GM and Chrysler were allowed to liquidate because of the interdependence of automakers and parts suppliers, the report said. Since GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, the auto industry has created 115,000 jobs, its strongest period of job growth since the late 1990s, it said.

GM, Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler have all returned to profitability, and in 2010, the Detroit Three automakers gained market share for the first time since 1995, according to the report.

The President's National Economic Council said the government will lose less than 20 percent of the $80 billion used to bail out the U.S. automobile industry, or about $14 billion. The report says the Treasury Department first thought the government would lose about 60 percent of the taxpayer funds.

The trip is being paid for by the White House, except for the costs associated with a side meeting the President will have with Democratic Party supporters and grass-roots activists, a Democratic source said.

The official said the costs of the political component of the trip will be reimbursed to the government by the Democratic National Committee in compliance with campaign-finance laws.

The upcoming trip made for political wrangling with some public employee unions urging Ohio Gov. John Kasich to stay away, and Republicans saying the President should quit celebrating and focus on job creation.

Outside the Lucas County Courthouse, union leaders called on Mr. Kasich not to come to the Chrysler event, claiming outrage that Mr. Kasich attended an announcement earlier in the month by GM that it was bringing 400 new jobs to the Powertrain plant on Alexis Road in Toledo.

"Governor Kasich already came to Toledo once trying to take credit for jobs that he opposed. His presence alone is wrong and won't be tolerated. His budget is actually expected to result in job loss, not create jobs. Don't come to Toledo, Governor Kasich, don't crash our party," said George Tucker, executive secretary of the Toledo AFL-CIO. The unions predict the loss of 50,000 jobs because of Mr. Kasich's proposed budget, which is awaiting legislative approval.

In fact, Mr. Kasich was invited to Friday's event, as well as to greet the President at the tarmac, but had already declined the invitation, a spokesman said.

"The governor was invited by the White House to attend Friday's events, and while he appreciates the invite, he cannot attend because of previous commitments," Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said.

Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine said, "unemployed workers in Ohio aren't looking for a presidential victory lap, they need jobs."

According to the White House report, the Toledo complex directly employs 2,400 workers and produces 200,000 cars per year with the potential to expand shifts and double output as domestic automotive sales continue to improve.

It says that more than 200 suppliers are responsible for producing the Jeep Wrangler. The top-level suppliers employ 3,000 workers, among them 115 at Toledo Molding & Die and 240 at Johnson Controls Inc., located close to the plant.

Mr. Marchionne presided at an event at a Chrysler Detroit-area factory May 25 to celebrate the repayment of $7.6 billion in government loans from 2009.

Chrysler took $10.5 billion from the U.S. government to survive two years ago, and had repaid some of the money. Last week, it retired a $5.9 billion balance on the U.S. loans and $1.7 billion to the governments of Canada and Ontario. The U.S. Treasury still owns 6.6 percent of Chrysler, part of the original stake it got in exchange for the bailout.

The U.S. government still has a 33.3-percent ownership stake in GM and is hoping to recoup its $50 billion taxpayer investment.

Staff writer Larry P. Vellequette contributed to this report.

Contract Tom Troy at: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058.