Photo: WFIU News Image
The Chrysler transmission plant in Kokomo hopes to add 400 new works, and more than 800 new workers could be brought on at a new plant in nearby Tipton.
Tipton is hoping Chrysler comes back to town. The automaker is looking to invest $162-million to start building a new transmission next year.
Nothing is final, but Chrysler received preliminary approval from Tipton county commissioners Monday on tax abatements for a vacant building. That building was constructed several years ago to house a transmission plant to be operated jointly by Chrysler and German company Getrag. That plant never opened.
Tipton Mayor Don Havens says the shell of that old building really needs a new tenant.
“A lot of community leaders have driven past that plant over the last four or five years and seen that as a glass half full, knowing there‘s an opportunity there for someone, just not knowing who it would be or when it be,” he says.
Tipton officials are hoping Chrysler returns — bringing with it–850 jobs. The Tipton city council is expected to finalize the tax abatement deal Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Chrysler‘s request for tax abatements is also moving forward in a nearby city. The company intends to invest in new equipment for its Kokomo facilities and that investment could mean at least 400 new jobs.
