Strong sales limit holiday break at auto plant

Some production lines will not have traditional 11-day idle time.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has scheduled two shifts of Jeep Wrangler production during the regular holiday shutdown period, but workers on the Jeep Cherokee line will have the full 11-day break.

At General Motors Co.’s Toledo Transmission plant, some workers have been off the job in December.

Automakers generally shut down their plants a day or two before Christmas and keep them idled until after Jan. 1 to give employees a break and to catch up on maintenance.

Over the past few years, though, Fiat Chrysler hasn’t had that luxury with some key plants as strong sales made it necessary to push out as many vehicles as possible.

Last year, the plant ran one shift on each line from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30, while two years ago the plant ran four shifts of Cherokee production and two shifts ofWrangler production. In 2012, the plant didn’t shut down at all.

After working the plant through the summer shutdown, Fiat Chrysler apparently decided it could afford the break. The plant will be idled today through Jan. 4, though a company spokesman said a single shift ofWrangler production is scheduled for Jan 2. and Jan. 3.

Through the third quarter, production was up about 6 percent to 185,877 vehicles.

Cherokee production had fallen a bit, however. Fiat Chrysler said the plant produced 197,533 Cherokees in the first nine months, down about 2 percent from last year.

Fiat Chrysler’s Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg Township and the Dundee Engine Plant will follow the same shutdown schedule, unless they’re needed to supportWrangler production.

The maker of OxyContin will pay Kentucky $24 million over the next eight years as part of the settlement of a long-running lawsuit that accused the company of misleading the public about the addictiveness of the powerful prescription drug.

The state first filed the lawsuit against Purdue Pharma in 2007. The Connecticut-based company has had FDA approval since 1995 to market OxyContin, a type of opioid that can relieve pain and has similar qualities to the illegal drug heroin.

Kentucky officials accused Purdue Pharma of marketing the painkiller as nonaddictive because it was a pill that, when swallowed, slowly released the drug over 12 hours. However, users soon discovered if they crushed the pill the drug lost its time release qualities and created an instant high.

State officials said that led to a wave of addiction and increased medical costs across the state, particularly in eastern Kentucky where many injured coal miners were prescribed the drug.

Former Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who filed the lawsuit in 2007, said the case could be worth as much as $1 billion if it ever got in front of a jury.

Purdue Pharma replaced the drug with a new version in 2010 that deters abuse.

Conway, a Democrat who leaves office next month, said in a news release the case was “still facing significant legal issues.” The state Supreme Court was still considering whether Purdue Pharma missed a deadline to dispute the facts of the case.

In 2007, Conway said Purdue Pharma offered Kentucky $500,000 to settle the lawsuit.

The agreement says Purdue Pharma will pay Kentucky $12 million followed by another $12 million over the next eight years.

The court ordered the state to spend the money on addiction treatment programs.