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Gates said Chrysler will make every effort to find new jobs for displaced workers. Also, all hourly workers at the St. Louis North plant have been offered buyouts. They have until May 25 to decide whether to accept the offers.
"To be clear, we will be retaining substantially all of our employees with the new company, and offering those who may be displaced as a result of the restructuring opportunities at other Chrysler facilities," Chrysler said in a statement. "We can assure our employees that we will make every effort to identify new employment opportunities within the company.
"While, this process is difficult for all communities involved, it is a necessary part of our restructuring efforts in order to right size the Company," the statement read.
Don Pizzo, vice president of United Auto Workers Local 110 in Fenton, said he was stunned by news of the plants' closure.
"Right now, we're clueless," Pizzo said. "When your membership asks if there's any plant closings in the future and then the next day this thing comes out, you feel like you've been slapped in the face."
Pizzo said the typical Chrysler union worker in Fenton earns about $28 per hour, or about $58,000 per year. The company employs about 1,200 workers in Fenton.
But that's way down from the peak of 6,400 just four years ago, Fenton Mayor Dennis Hancock said. In recent years, the St. Louis region has shed thousands of high-paying autoworker jobs with cutbacks in Fenton and with the closure of Ford Motor Co.'s plant in Hazelwood.
The impact spirals through the region - many supplier companies in the St. Louis area work with the Big Three automakers.
Elected officials remained hopeful.
"My take on the whole thing is more of a wait-and-see what comes out of bankruptcy," Hancock said. "I would think the bankruptcy judge has a lot of leeway in what to approve or not approve."
A planned merger with Fiat could result in 5,000 new manufacturing jobs across North America. Hancock was hopeful that could keep Fenton's truck plant going, and perhaps even salvage the minivan plant, even if they are retooled for another use.
"It's definitely a possibility, though that may be wishful thinking on my part," he said.
U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Democrat from St. Louis, said the leaner version of Chrysler will be stronger, and he was optimistic that with the partnership with Fiat, it would succeed. He also remains hopeful that the Fenton plants will be back in the mix.
"Taking advantage of Fenton's flexible manufacturing capabilities and productive work force is in the best interest of Chrysler's future," Carnahan said. "I remain committed to advocating that position to the new company's new leadership."
