In March, Fiat Chrysler announced a $400 million investment to update a shuttered Indiana transmission factory for engine production.
The company hoped to begin production on Global Medium Engine Turbo 4 (GMT4) engines in the first quarter of 2021, but the global pandemic has forced some delays.
Now, the factory won't reopen until the last quarter 2021, in part due to FCA's eight-week shutdown early this year.
Older equipment has already been removed, walls and offices torn down, and steel is being raised for a 30,000-square-foot addition.
The factory is set to become the U.S. production site for GMT4s used in Jeep Wranglers and Cherokees.
The update will help retain 1,000 jobs and add nearly 200.
With the new jobs, FCA staff at Kokomo-area factories will eclipse 8,000.
From 2003 to 2018, the plant had manufactured nearly 4 million transmissions by the time the company began to shutter the facility.
