WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today applauded the news that 2011 was the first year of net income for Chrysler since 1997. Brown credited the company’s employees and facilities in northwest Ohio, as well as the auto rescue, as key to its success.

“Since the auto rescue, we have seen new investments and new jobs in Chrysler’s Toledo-area plants—which in turn have helped boost the company’s bottom line and led to the first year of net income for Chrysler in 15 years,” Brown said. “We know how to make things in Ohio—and our workers have been instrumental to Chrysler’s success. I am proud to congratulate the company today on its good news and will continue working with Chrysler leadership to bring new product lines and investments to Northwest Ohio.”

In January 2011, as the Toledo Auto Show kicked off, Brown called on the Chrysler Group to fully utilize the Toledo Assembly Complex by adding a new production line to the facility as part of the company’s planned 2011 expansion. Brown previously visited the Toledo Assembly Complex with Vice President Joe Biden in August 2010. At that visit, Brown and Biden touted the success thus far of the Administration’s actions to strengthen the American auto industry, including the role of the Administration’s investments in GM and Chrysler in helping these companies return to profitability, retain and hire workers, and keep plants open. 

In June, Brown met with workers and toured the Chrysler Group’s Toledo Supplier Park with President Obama. Prior to the auto rescue, only 55 percent of the parts in Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler were made in America. Today, 70 percent of the Jeep Wrangler is American-made – with many parts made in Ohio. The glass is made in Crestline, the steering column in Perrysburg, the seats in Northwood, the hard top in Carey, and cargo components in Holmesville.

In November, Chrysler announced a $365 million investment in the Toledo Assembly Complex, which the Toledo Blade reported will add 55 management jobs and 1,050 new production jobs.

According to a 2010 study by the Center for Automotive Research, more than 792,000 Ohio jobs depend on the auto industry; this figure includes 120,285 direct employment (people employed directly by auto industry: 39,685 by automakers and 80,600 by parts suppliers); 276,330 indirect employment (jobs indirectly employed by automakers or parts suppliers: 167,891 by automakers and 108,439 by parts suppliers); and 395,981 spin-off employment (expenditure-induced employment resulting from spending by direct and intermediate employees; 221,018 by automakers and 174,963 by suppliers). A 2011 study by the Center for Automotive Research found that 164,654 jobs in 2009 would have been lost in Ohio if the auto industry had not been rescued.

A list of Jeep Wrangler suppliers throughout Ohio can be found here.

###