DETROIT (AP) -- Chrysler LLC is keeping three of its assembly plants and two engine plants idle for longer than planned.
Chrysler says assembly plants in Sterling Heights, Belvidere, Ill., and Toluca, Mexico, will resume production Jan. 26 instead of Monday or Tuesday. Engine plants in Dundee and Trenton, both slated to reopen Jan. 20, also will be shuttered for an additional week.
The Detroit Free Press says the automaker's moves are a response to the worldwide financial crisis that has curtailed consumers' ability to borrow money to buy cars.
Auburn Hills-based Chrysler says Thursday that its other plants will open on schedule.
The automaker closed all 30 of its manufacturing plants for a month on Dec. 19, extending the traditional two-week holiday shutdown period by two weeks so it could conserve cash and adjust production to slowing demand.