The Chrysler dilemma

1 comment September 15th, 2009

I just talked to a former Syncreon worker. That’s the plant that sequences parts for Chrysler’s Belvidere assembly plant.

He has a dilemma that probably a few hundred others are facing. He was laid off when Chrysler eliminated the second shift. He found another job. It doesn’t pay as well as Syncreon, but it is a job and there are 27,000 people out of work.

Syncreon has called him back to work when Chrysler temporarily restores the second shift — which has been moved back to mid-November — to pump out an additional 10,000 Dodge Calibers.

He said if the second shift is going to produce Calibers only then they can pump out 10,000 of them in about four weeks. This would gibe with the production schedule another Chrysler worker sent me, which shows two shifts of production for just five weeks.

If he goes back to Syncreon he’ll lose the job he has now obviously. Syncreon does pay better. But the Syncreon job likely will last no more than five weeks and then he’s back looking for work in a 15 percent unemployment market.

If he doesn’t go back, he is fired from Syncreon and loses his seniority which means he’s out of luck if Fiat puts new products in the plant and brings back the shift permanently in 2010 or 2011.

I didn’t know what to tell him. What would you do?