The Demo Site

Mitsubishi announced today that it will extend its seven-week shutdown at its Illinois plant by five weeks. According to Automotive News, the plant will be closed for a total of 12 weeks from Feb. 16 to May 11 in an effort to reduce inventory.

The plant is responsible for the production of the Mitsubishi Galant, Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder. It also produces the Mitsubishi Endeavor crossover.

The plant has 1,568 employees including more than 1,200 hourly UAW workers. Mitsubishi will keep all employees on the payroll but will shift their duties to non-production related work.

Mitsubishi kicked of 2009 with a 148 days supply in the U.S. - up from a 127-day supply on Dec. 1