Chrysler to Add 900 Jobs for Midsize Car Plant

Chrysler Group LLC said Friday that it will add nearly 900 jobs at a factory in suburban Detroit. Its decision is a show of optimism that consumers will embrace its redesigned midsize sedans.

The company made the announcement at another Detroit-area plant just before President Barack Obama was scheduled to speak about the success of the government-funded auto industry bailout.

The jobs will staff a second shift at Chrysler’s assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Mich., just north of Detroit. The plant makes the slow-selling Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring midsize sedans.

In the fall, the company plans to start selling new versions of the cars that it says will be updated from top to bottom.

Chrysler also said the Sterling Heights factory will stay open beyond 2012, when it had been scheduled to close. The second shift will begin in the first quarter of next year, Chrysler said.

Companies that make parts for the Sebring and Avenger, and the Sebring convertible, which also is built at the plant, are expected to add 500 jobs.

The announcement was made at the Jefferson North factory in Detroit where the Jeep Grand Cherokee is made.

Obama was to tour the plant and a General Motors factory that makes the Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car.

TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer DETROIT