President-Elect Obama looking to help
An article on detnews.com, President-elect Obama has said that one of his first goals in this presidency is to help the Big 3 automotive companies that are the “backbone of American manufacturing.” Ford, GM, and Chrysler have had major, major financial problems recently. There is some great concern that one or all could have to file bankruptcy. GM lost $2.5 billion in the third quarter, which brings their losses to more than $70 billion since 2004. Ford lost money in the third quarter as well and spent more than $2 billion a month. It’s scary. Obama will help to get these companies the federal loan that they are to be given through the major buyout that was approved by Congress. The problem is that the companies say that they need private loans in order to try to get themselves out of debt, even ever so slightly.
The seriousness of the Big 3 having all of these financial problems then hurts everyone. The suppliers, small businesses, and communities, especially those that have plants, are hurt by the problems. Thousands and thousands of people have been laid off by these three companies. It’s a downward spiral, but hopefully through the government and if the economy can improve soon, these three companies can have a upward spiral instead.