Chrysler workers arrested for alleged drug use

Three workers from a high-profile Chrysler plant that makes a crucial new Jeep model were arrested recently for alleged drug use during the workday, the company and police said.

The arrests marked the second time that Chrysler workers have been caught drinking or using drugs at the Jefferson North assembly plant in the past six months.

In September, Chrysler fired 13 workers at the plant after local television showed them drinking beer and smoking what appeared to be marijuana at a park near the plant during lunch break.

After a federal bailout in 2009 that handed management control of Chrysler to Fiat SpA, executives had touted the revamped Jefferson North plant as an early success of the turnaround strategy.

The plant marked the first Chrysler plant retooled to take advantage of Fiat manufacturing programs intended to shore up Chrysler's lagging reputation for quality.

President Barack Obama visited the plant last summer as it readied the launch of the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler's first major product launch since the bailout.

Chrysler said in a statement that it had cooperated with a unit of the Macomb County Sheriff's department in making the recent arrests.

Chrysler Group will continue to cooperate with local law enforcement as requested to aggressively pursue any employee who violates state law, the company said.

The safety and security of all Chrysler Group employees is our first priority and we will continue to act accordingly, it said.

The three workers had not been arraigned and were not identified. The timing of the arrest and the exact nature of the charges they could face were not immediately clear.

(Editing by Bernard Orr)