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DETROIT, Michigan - Chrysler's chief joined a host of critics slamming Mitt Romney for an advertisement that implies Jeep is shipping US jobs to China as a result of US president Barack Obama's policies.
The ad is airing in Ohio, where Chyrsler has its Toledo Jeep plant. It was produced after the republican presidential candiate was criticised for telling supporters in Ohio that Jeep was going to move "all" of its production to China.
'LET DETROIT GO BANKRUPT'
Chrysler called the rumour "a leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats".
Obama won a lot of support among workers in Ohio by pushing through a R725-billion bail-out of the US auto industry despite objections from Republicans, including Romney. During the crisis Romney called to "let Detroit go bankrupt".
With just a week to go before the November 6 2012 election Obama is currently up by 2.1 points in a Real Clear Politics average of recent Ohio polls. Romney's ad shows cars being crushed as a narrator declares that "Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China" while insisting Romney will "do more" for the auto industry.
Chrysler chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne insisted that plans to build Jeeps in China were a sign of the company's strength and that local production is the only way to expand in the world's largest automotive market. He also noted that Chrysler had tripled Jeep production in the US and added more than 11 200 jobs since it came under Fiat's stewardship in 2009.
Marchionne said in a letter to employees: "Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand."
"It is inaccurate to suggest anything different."
OBAMA FIGHTS BACK
The Obama campaign fought back with an ad of its own calling Romney "wrong then, dishonest now" interspersed with a clip of Romney saying "let Detroit go bankrupt".
Romney has called his rival's use of the quote misleading, insisting that that he was simply saying the private sector should take the lead and that Obama ultimately did as he suggested by restructuring GM and Chrysler under bankruptcy protection.
Critics and experts have noted that credit markets were essentially frozen due to the financial crisis and that GM, Chrysler and their suppliers would have simply collapsed without government help at a cost of about a million jobs.
Both companies have posted huge profits, expanded production, added jobs and repaid most of their loans since emerging from the government-backed bankruptcy.
Watch Romney's campaign advert below:
The ad is airing in Ohio, where Chyrsler has its Toledo Jeep plant. It was produced after the republican presidential candiate was criticised for telling supporters in Ohio that Jeep was going to move "all" of its production to China.
'LET DETROIT GO BANKRUPT'
Chrysler called the rumour "a leap that would be difficult even for professional circus acrobats".
Obama won a lot of support among workers in Ohio by pushing through a R725-billion bail-out of the US auto industry despite objections from Republicans, including Romney. During the crisis Romney called to "let Detroit go bankrupt".
With just a week to go before the November 6 2012 election Obama is currently up by 2.1 points in a Real Clear Politics average of recent Ohio polls. Romney's ad shows cars being crushed as a narrator declares that "Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China" while insisting Romney will "do more" for the auto industry.
Chrysler chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne insisted that plans to build Jeeps in China were a sign of the company's strength and that local production is the only way to expand in the world's largest automotive market. He also noted that Chrysler had tripled Jeep production in the US and added more than 11 200 jobs since it came under Fiat's stewardship in 2009.
Marchionne said in a letter to employees: "Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand."
"It is inaccurate to suggest anything different."
OBAMA FIGHTS BACK
The Obama campaign fought back with an ad of its own calling Romney "wrong then, dishonest now" interspersed with a clip of Romney saying "let Detroit go bankrupt".
Romney has called his rival's use of the quote misleading, insisting that that he was simply saying the private sector should take the lead and that Obama ultimately did as he suggested by restructuring GM and Chrysler under bankruptcy protection.
Critics and experts have noted that credit markets were essentially frozen due to the financial crisis and that GM, Chrysler and their suppliers would have simply collapsed without government help at a cost of about a million jobs.
Both companies have posted huge profits, expanded production, added jobs and repaid most of their loans since emerging from the government-backed bankruptcy.
Watch Romney's campaign advert below:
