Ohio mayor plans another meeting with Fiat about Jeep plant

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - The mayor of Ohio's fourth-largest city plans to meet again with the head of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to discuss what can be done to make sure Toledo keeps making the Jeep Wrangler.

Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins expects the meeting with Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne to happen sometime later this month.

Collins along with state officials, met with Marchionne in October to begin talks about the future of the Wrangler and the factory that builds it.

Fiat Chrysler is considering moving production of the Wrangler out of Toledo so that it can be made with an aluminum body. The automaker has said the changes needed to make a redesigned Wrangler would be too costly at its current plant in Toledo that also makes the Jeep Cherokee.

But the automaker has assured city and union officials that employment at its plant would not change even if Wrangler production is moved elsewhere, most likely by bringing in a new vehicle to build.

Union leaders and politicians in Toledo have started an effort to make sure Toledo keeps making the Jeep Wrangler.

The city in recent months has bought 32 acres next to the assembly plant if the automaker wants more land for a new plant.

"The synergy is there for a very productive meeting," Collins told The Blade (http://bit.ly/1BMyp8L ).

The automaker has said it needs to switch the Wrangler to an aluminum body to meet new government gas-mileage standards.

United Auto Workers officials in Toledo have said their first priority is to convince the automaker to keep the Wrangler in Toledo. Jeep's origins in the city go back to 1941, when Willys-Overland Motors began mass production of the vehicle for the military.

The concern among the union is that another model would not match the Wrangler in sales or stick around as long.

Bruce Baumhower, president of United Auto Workers Local 12, said the community and city are doing a lot to keep the Wrangler.

"We've put a pretty good plan together that addresses just about any issues they could have," Baumhower said. "I feel good about what the mayor and his team have done, getting the right people in the room and looking at every issue of this to see what hurdles are out there and how to overcome them."

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Information from: The Blade, http://www.toledoblade.com/