Gregg Galardi, speaking at a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, said the two companies had reached a deal that will run through February 15.
DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC and bankrupt supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc have reached an interim product deal that will allow the U.S. automaker to resume production at four idled plants and avoid shutdown of all its assembly operations, an attorney for Plastech said on Tuesday.
Gregg Galardi, speaking at a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit, said the two companies had reached a deal that will run through February 15.
He said Plastech would resume production of Chrysler parts during the second or third shift at the company's plants on Tuesday.
On Monday, Chrysler, which terminated all its contracts with Plastech due to the supplier's financial struggles, shuttered four assembly plants and said more shutdowns could quickly follow because Plastech was no longer shipping parts to the automaker.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Chrysler's plants operate on a "just-in-time" basis, under which parts are shipped as needed, so any disruption would be immediately felt.
The automaker had asked the court to allow it to seize tooling equipment it said it owns. Plastech had said ownership of the equipment was in question and that removing it would affect other customers.
(Reporting by Nick Carey, writing by Ben Klayman; editing by John Wallace)
