Most employees laid off last month from Dana Holding Corp.’s Fort Wayne axle plant have returned to work as one of its main customers resumed production Monday.
Dana laid off 115 of its 280 hourly workers in early May. About 65 of them were recalled last week to resume making axles for the Jeep plant in Toledo, said Denny Leazier, president of United Steelworkers Local 903, which represents Dana’s Fort Wayne production workers.
Chrysler Group LLC started making Jeep Wranglers at its Toledo plant Monday, spokesman Michael Palese said.
The carmaker idled its plants shortly after filing for bankruptcy protection April 30. It emerged with a new boss and a new name June 10.
Dana makes axles for Jeeps, Ford Econoline vans and military Humvees at its Fort Wayne plant, Leazier said Monday.
“We’re hoping they’ll call the others back,” Leazier said of the 50 Dana workers still on layoff.
However, that might be complicated by summer shutdowns.
Chrysler reopened seven assembly plants Monday but also said all would close for two weeks starting July 13 as its switches over to a new model year.
Ford makes Econoline vans at its Avon Lake, Ohio, assembly plant.
The Ford plant is on shutdown this week and will be idled for another week in mid-August, spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said.
In the past, summer assembly-plant shutdowns didn’t affect the production schedule at Dana’s Fort Wayne plant, Leazier said. But under their new, lean-manufacturing strategies, automakers carry as little inventory as possible, Leazier said.
Pay at the axle plant averages $22.75 an hour.
Corporate officials with Dana in Toledo did not return phone calls Monday for comment.
