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Title: Auto Industry On The Rebound According To New Government Report
Source:
mLive
URL Source: http://www.mlive.com/michigan-job-s ... n_the_rebound_according_t.html
Published: Apr 23, 2010
Author: Jackie Headapohl
Post Date: 2010-04-23 12:31:04 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 626
Comments: 1
A new government report released yesterday by the Obama administration looks at the auto industry over the last year and concludes it has rebounded more than expected since last spring when General Motors and Chrysler went through orderly bankruptcies.
Since 2008, a bleak year for the auto industry that saw the loss of 400,000 jobs and a bailout from the federal government, the industry is performing better than expected — sooner than expected.
Yesterday, GM announced that it has repaid its remaining $4.7 billion in TARP loans — five years ahead of schedule, and Chrysler announced it produced an operating profit in the first quarter of 2010 after one-time charges — the first quarterly profit since the beginning of the economic crisis.
Today, employment in the auto industry has stabilized, the government report says. Since GM exited bankruptcy in early July 2009, the industry has added 45,000 jobs.
Yesterday, GM announced it would be investing $257 million in plants in Kansas and Michigan to produce the next-generation Chevrolet Malibu, safeguarding jobs at those two plants.
GM has invested more than $1.5 billion in 20 plants since leaving bankruptcy protection, preserving 7,500 jobs, according to the Associated Press.
And in a report by the Detroit News, GM President Mark Reuss said the company is "close to hiring lower-paid hourly workers to accelerate production of popular new vehicles that are in short supply."He did not disclose a hiring timeline or identify which plants may be getting additional workers, but after a nationwide pool of 4,000 to 5,000 workers is called back to work, lower-paid employees making $14 an hour will begin to be hired, according to the News story.
According to the Obama administration, the auto industry has seen its strongest nine month period of job growth since 2000.
Signs for a continued recovery for Detroit automakers look good, according to the government report.
Consumer sentiment is shifting toward domestic automakers as well, according to an Associated Press poll released yesterday.
The poll shows that 38 percent of people surveyed favor U.S. vehicles while 33 percent prefer Asian brands, a significant improvement for U.S. automakers compared to four years ago.
That's in contrast to a December 2006 poll in which 46 percent said Asian countries made superior cars, while just 29 percent said American automakers did.
No one is saying the auto industry will return to its former glory, but analysts seem to agree that signs are pointing to a turnaround in the industry.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Ask yourself one question. Where did GM get the money to repay TARP? (sad chuckle) From you and me, suckers. And it wasn't via sales.
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