President Announces That Government’s Assistance To Carmakers Is Paying Off

On Friday, hundreds of employees at Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant welcomed President Obama on his visit to share the positive reports on the auto industry’s comeback after bankruptcy. Both Chrysler and General Motors received a taxpayer bailout last year to assist them through bankruptcy.

President Obama, who spoke to the crowd in shirtsleeves, announced that the government’s difficult and highly criticizd decision to help the carmakers through bankruptcy has resulted in the companies’ return to profitability.

The President was quoted as saying, “Last year many thought this industry would keep losing jobs, as it had for the better part of the last decade. Today U.S. automakers have added 55,000 jobs since last June - the strongest job growth in more than ten years in the auto industry.”

Will Langston, an employee at Jefferson North, one of the plants that has recently rehired workers, commented, “Without his support and financial aid he gave to Chrysler we wouldn't have a job. My original plant is closing, and without the aid from the government, I don't know where we would be.”

In 2008 and 2009, Chrysler and General Motors received an estimated $60 billion from the Obama administration to enable the carmakers to remain in business through bankruptcy. This loan has been partially repaid by both companies. This fall, General Motors will likely present its first public offering of shares in the restructured company, which will result in the government recovering more of its taxpayer investment.

Despite the President’s optimism and encouraging news about the carmakers’ recovery, subsequent reports on Friday about the nation’s economic growth fading further in the second quarter of this year have caused experts to restate their opinions that the economy is flailing and that the jobless rate is not going to decline in the near future.

 

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