Earlier coverage

• Chrysler moves to eliminate 789 of 3,200 dealers

• 8,000 in Ohio could lose jobs as Chrysler, GM shut dealers



CLEVELAND — Big-name dealers such as Spitzer and Ganley will lose their Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises next month, according to a bankruptcy court filing by Chrysler LLC.

In the region, 14 dealerships will lose 23 franchises. The losses include Ganley stores in Middleburg Heights, Cleveland and Wickliffe. Spitzer will lose stores in Lakewood, Akron, Sheffield, Mayfield Heights and Parma. The closed franchises are about 30 percent of the Chrysler brand stores in the seven-county area. After the closures on June 9, stores selling 61 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises will remain.

Calls to the dealerships were not returned Thursday. Nationwide, Chrysler asked the court to void 789 franchise agreements with its stores. "The best dealers with the best facilities and locations are being approached

regularly by other" automakers, Chrysler said in its filing. To protect its base, the company said it needed to "identify immediately the remaining dealers that will comprise the domestic dealer network ... to provide them with a reason to continue to support the debtors and the debtors' products -- as they have for many years -- in the face of these various challenges and pressures."