U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay has now weighed in on Tuesday’s announcement by Chrysler that it’s cutting 2,400 jobs at its St. Louis operations. He joins others who offered their comments Tuesday.

“I am appalled by Chrysler’s decision to sacrifice the jobs of 2,400 skilled UAW employees at Fenton,” Clay said in a statement.  “Three years ago, the taxpayers of Missouri invested over a billion dollars to help Chrysler remain competitive, increase productivity at the Fenton facilities and to safeguard good American jobs. 

“We trusted that the new owners of Chrysler were committed to improving quality, boosting mileage and upgrading their products.  Sadly, that trust has been betrayed, Missouri taxpayers have been fleeced, and the workers have been abandoned.

“I am going to demand new legislation that would require a greatly enhanced commitment to worker retraining and job placement.  Our skilled union workforce is a precious national asset that we cannot allow to waste away, because of corporate mismanagement.”