In an industry currently laying off factory staff to reduce dealer stocks, there was some unexpected good news this week when DaimlerChrysler summoned 2,800 workers back to its Ohio Jeep Cherokee assembly line for the next two weeks.
Ironically, Bloomberg News reported, demand has increased for the Cherokee, an ageing model which DaimlerChrysler will axe mid-year after the debut of a smaller replacement SUV called the Liberty – which will be built in another Ohio factory.
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The company is also recalling about 6,000 workers next week to its Windsor, Ontario, minivan plant in Canada, Bloomberg News said.
“We saw increased demand since we made our production announcement to idle the assembly plants,” a DaimlerChrysler spokesman said.
According to Bloomberg, sales of Jeep Cherokees fell 5.8 percent in December from the year-earlier month, and slid 14 percent in 2000. The day’s supply of Cherokees at dealerships as of Dec. 31 fell to 58 days from the usual 60 to 70 days, and from 72 days as of Nov. 30.
