BELVIDERE (WREX) — The Belvidere Chrysler plant will shut down for a third time in February because of a lack of demand. The plant is currently not operating for that same reason.



According to a spokesperson with Fiat Chrysler, the owner of the Belvidere assembly plant, the shutdown will occur the week of Feb. 17.



According to that same spokesperson, it's happening so the plant can align production with demand.

The plant is currently on its second week of a temporary shutdown after the plant announced a 2 week shutdown earlier this month.



It's unclear how many employees are impacted by this development. When asked if more shutdowns were expected in 2020, spokesperson Jodi Tinson said she would not comment past February because production is subject to change.



This is the third time in the past 6 months the plant has shutdown temporarily to align with production.



The first week-long shutdown happened in late August of 2019.



It's been a noteworthy 12 months for Fiat Chrysler both in Belvidere and across the country.



In Feb. 2019, FCA Chrysler announced that 1,371 workers would be laid off at the Belvidere facility on May 6. Then, on the day those layoffs went into effect, FCA announced an additional 32 people would be laid off.



Later in May of 2019, Fiat Chrysler submitted a proposal to merge with French automobile manufacturer Groupe Renault to create a 50-50 merger between the two major automotive manufacturers.



In Dec. of 2019, Fiat Chrysler and the United Auto Workers union reached a collective bargaining agreement. Nearly 8,000 jobs were created with the new agreement, but none of those jobs were in Belvidere.



13 News will continue to provide updates on shutdowns as they become available.