KOKOMO, Ind. -- Nearly 200 Chrysler workers in Kokomo will soon be out of work again as part of a union agreement that will allow out-of-state workers to take their jobs.

The move comes after a plant in St. Louis shut down. According to a United Auto Workers contract, 178 of the workers with the most seniority will be offered positions in Kokomo, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

President of Local 685 Richie Boruff said that local members fought hard to prevent the move, but eventually lost the fight.

One worker told Carmack by e-mail, "Why should Hoosiers who have lived and worked here most of their lives be thrown into the street to make room for people who will work here a few years then go back to St. Louis?"

Others said they understand that times are tough all over.

"Yeah it is fair. It's in the language of the contract. It's something we have to deal with and go on," said worker Kevin Baumis.

Sylvia Gromko, who has been laid off from Chrysler in Kokomo for more than a year, said she hoped she would be among the next workers called back.

"Obviously, it makes me unhappy that they're coming here, but at the same time, they've got a lot of time in, and they're trying to retire, and everyone's trying to find work," she said. "It's not that it's not fair, it's just hard to take."

Hundreds of Kokomo Chrysler workers had been off the job after the struggling automaker declared bankruptcy.

The St. Louis workers will begin training next week.