Chrysler said today it will hire 1,250 new workers and invest $374 million at its plants in central Indiana – the only place in North America where the automaker makes transmissions. The investment includes a commitment to spend $212 million to upgrade two plants in Kokomo, Indiana and $162 million pay for equipment and for the purchase of a plant in nearby Tipton, Indiana.
“This is the sole region where we manufacture transmissions and – including all of the nearby facilities – it will be the largest transmission installation in the world,” Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said at an event at Chrysler’s Kokomo Transmission Plant.
The investments will help Chrysler build more nine-speed transmissions that it expects it will need for the new Jeep Cherokee crossover that goes on sale later this year, a redesigned Chrysler 200 scheduled to be launched next year and the Dodge Dart.
Marchionne said production of the nine-speed transmission will begin early next year. Chrysler will initially use transmissions produced by ZF Group when it launches the all-new Jeep Cherokee in May.
Chrysler said it expects to hire 400 new workers at its transmission and casting plants in Kokomo and 850 workers at the new Tipton plant.
By the end of 2014, Chrysler expects to employ more than 7,300 in the area, which is about an hour north of Indianapolis, Indiana.