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Chrysler has announced it will extend its already-extended winter shut-down for an additional week at five of its North American factories. Assembly plants in Belvidere, Ill.; Sterling Heights, Mich.; Trenton, Mich.; and Toluca, Mexico, will reopen Jan. 26 instead of January 19th as initially planned. “The ongoing worldwide financial crisis continues to stifle the availability of consumer credit for American car buyers, prolonging the automotive industry downturn. As a result of these external issues, Chrysler LLC will make additional adjustments to production schedules at its North American manufacturing operations,” the company said in a statement. 

Sales of Chrysler vehicles fell 30% in December and 53% in January, making Chrysler’s sales figures the worst of any major automobile manufacturer so far. For several months now the troubled company has been the focus of industry-wide speculation, with many automotive analysts predicting that, even with federal help, Chrysler will not last through 2009 as a viable corporation.

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