A new $530 million transmission plant could yield benefits across county lines.
On Monday, Chrysler Group and GETRAG Corporate Group announced plans to build a transmission factory employing more than 1,000 people near Tipton. The plant will employ around 1,050 full-time, UAW-represented workers and 120 management employees from both companies.
With a population of around 10,000, an eager work force and close proximity to Tipton, Elwood seems a natural complement to the project.
“As far as Elwood goes, it’s a plus for us. (Tipton is) 14 miles away,” said Elwood Economic Development Director Bill Savage. “We’re optimistic that it will benefit the citizens of Elwood who are pursuing new job opportunities.”
Savage said Elwood is packed with automotive know-how. He hopes workers laid off from Delphi, Guide and Delco Remy have the chance to put their skills back to work.
“From what I’ve heard, the 1,200 jobs may not be all new jobs,” Savage said. “They may be preserving some people in Chrysler, so some of them could be transfers.”
Chrysler spokesman Kevin Frazier said the majority of jobs will be filled out of the area job banks that already exist. The number of new jobs has not yet been determined.
“I think you would have to evaluate skills on an individual basis,” Frazier said. “Certainly one of the reasons Chrysler located the plant here is because of the skills of the work force in the area.”
Rick Hall, a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, represented Tipton and Tipton County in negotiations over the inventive package. He said the deal includes no preferential hiring language such as the stipulation that IBM would hire 75 percent of its work force from Delaware County when it announced the creation of a new call center last month.
“We have guys in Elwood that worked at Borg Warner in Muncie who have the skills and this gives them an opportunity,” said Madison County Commissioner John Richwine, R-North District. “As for the people in Elwood who work at Chrysler in Kokomo, this has got to mean job security for those guys. If that is the case and they do get transferred, they know they’re not moving to Iowa or Ohio.”
Company officials said 230 employees at Kokomo Casting and Kokomo Transmission will produce parts solely for the new plant. Chrysler already employs around 6,300 people at three transmission plants and one casting factory in Kokomo, 14 miles north of Tipton.
“Certainly one of the reasons Chrysler and GETRAG chose central Indiana was because of its proximity to the Chrysler plant in Kokomo,” Frazier said. “Whether it’s idle workers or new workers, the bottom line is that these are jobs for Hoosiers.”
Creation of the plant is part of what Chrysler calls its “Powertrain offensive,” involving a $3 billion investment in launching the new engines and a fuel-efficient, dual-clutch transmission, which is being developed with GETRAG.
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8:01 p.m.: Transmission plant may bring jobs to Elwood
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