The pain in the auto industry is not limited to Detroit, it will hit nationwide

[cap]

the auto industry tanking will have huge implications nationwide.... The auto industry has huge linkages into major parts of the economy: chemicals, paint, coatings, upholstery, machinery, iron, steel, glass, ceramics, plastic electronics, IT, call centers. Their dealer network and finance. This is an atom bomb with ground zero at Detroit that radiates over the midwest and then spreads NATIONWIDE! It's what will happen in your backyard. Anyone got a Rohm & Haas, Dupont, Pittsburg Paint and Glass, Corning, Delphi, US Steel, IBM, EDS, GMAC, US auto dealership, US Auto Parts supplier etc. in their backyards? This means YOU! (Anyone connected to the Auto Industry please post with other companies that will hit -- and geographic locations of key supplier plants so that non-auto folks get a clue what this means to them).

The auto industry is one of the key drivers of the US economy. Not quite like it was in the 60s with our shift in emphasis towards the service sector. But don't kid yourself. Google "Auto Multiplier Effect" or "Auto Industry Linkages" and you will see what I am talking about.

There ain't no easy way out folks. We can't let Detroit continue the way it has; it is unsustainable. But we must renew the auto industry. Whether that means GM and Chrysler continue to exist is another story.

As far as Obama is concerned, I think he does have something up his sleeve. The midwest and the unions are his base. He just would not cannibalize his base. The Democrats won by sweeping the Midwest. They would not give it up so easily.

[TBF]

1. Good post - I hope we have some people here who work for the big 3 and/or

suppliers and can tell us what it means to them.

[madrchsod]

6. it means my daughter will not be returning to her 14+hr job.

she worked for a major parts supplier to 6 of the worlds major car assemblers. her employer paid for her first responder classes,12 hours of osha training ,and college courses. she`s the head of the second shift safety team ,second shift "meet and greet" person for visiting customers and osha reps,and is a member of the employee entertainment committee.

she the perfect employee...intelligent,great personality,and willing to work beyond what is expected of her.can the american industry afford to lose a 23 woman like my daughter? can american industry afford to lose millions of young people just like her?

what it means to me is that i`ve been through three of these disasters for the working class. i thought that just maybe my daughter would`t have to go through the same thing i did. she`s young and will survive just as i did but it still hurts.

[Luciferous]

25. My dad works for Chrysler

he has already turned down one offer for early retirement. He lost his bonuses and some of his pay if he ends up being laid off, and he said that is before they even open up the contract. My husband works for a supplier that makes parts for construction equipment and semis. He is laid off, along with 3/4 of their employees. The ones that are left worked a half day last Monday and were sent home for the rest of the week... they are all part of the UAW.

[TBF]

29. Interesting - both you and the other poster that responded to me are in Illinois -

I knew Ohio & Michigan would be heavily hit but didn't think about Illinois. I am so sorry about your dad's situation. And it's not as easy for the over 40 set (I'm part of that now - in my early 40s) to find new employment. Your family will be in my thoughts.

[Bandit]

2. Don't leave out Goodrich and Goodyear and Michilin

I suspect those companies have a stake in the auto industry. In fact most companies in America will be effected in one way or another..Mechanics and Body shops delivery drivers etc. etc. etc.

[wartrace]

19. My company (Bridgestone/firestone) is shutting down the plant I work at (partially)

Laying off 900 people by the 1st of June. My last day is May 1st. They are hoping to keep the truck/bus tire line open but it doesn't look good. Thats 900 jobs averaging 20 to 25 dollars an hour that disappeared from our economy. These people will be lucky to find jobs that pay half that amount IF they can find a job at all.

[customerserviceguy]

3. On the other hand, where is most of the Midwest going to go?

Sure, Indiana might flop back over to red (but not in 2012 as long as Obama is the candidate), but can any of us imagine that Michigan will vote for the Repukes in the foreseeable future? It was the Rethugs in the Senate who killed the auto bailout back in December, Michigan will not forget that.

One very clever thing that Chimpy did was to punt this ball squarely into Obama's side of the field, the March 31st deadline for GM and Chrysler to get their shit together was crafted to deal with the fact that it would take about five or six weeks for the high spirits of Inauguration Day to die down a bit. Maybe I'm a bit cynical here, but the sixty days given to GM ends right at Memorial Day, and politicians are notoriously infamous for dropping bad news at the beginning of a three day holiday weekend, fewer people are watching the Sunday talking-heads shows.

[newfie11]

4. All the factories that make powered metal for autos will be devastated!

My daughter in laws family works in factories in PA and they have already been cut back. This will devastate the small towns as these factories were the major employer.

[TBF]

5. 'As GM Goes, So Goes the Nation'

I liked this blog... http://seekingalpha.com/article/105373-as-gm-goes-so-goes-the-nation-let-s-hope-iacocca-is-wrong

Except in the comments when they bash the union. But, costs of employees could be brought down a little by passing universal health care.

At some point people in this country need to realize that taxes are not necessarily a bad thing, particularly if you tax the 350+ billionaires and put some of that money towards our health care/infrastructure rather than blowing up things in the middle east.

Just my two cents.

[cap]

7. oh yeah... forgot to mention the impact on the health care and the retirement industry

of 700K pensioners getting 30% of their pension and who knows what of their retirement health care. There was a meeting recently in my MIL's senior retirement community for the folks receiving GM retirement. If those pensions go belly up, that will hurt my MIL's home and they will start cutting services.

[notadmblnd]

9. healthcare could sky rocket.

Blue Cross Blue Shield, and all the HMO's are going to lose a lot insured people. Guess who's gonna have to make up the money they lose as a result of this mess?

[TBF]

15. Not to mention emergency room costs. The most expensive kind of care,

and that's what you end up with when people are unemployed and have no better options.

[notadmblnd]

8. dont forget the suppliers to IBM and EDS

HP, Dell, SUN, EMC, etc. The company I worked for had 2400 + various brand servers and that was just in one building on their campus. Desktops and laptops to numerous to count. Then there's the jobs of the people who ship and deliver those servers. Companies like Fed Ex, UPS, CDW, Eagle Freight and United Van lines just to name a few. The people who support this, don't realize that it effects more than just GM and the direct suppliers. This will effect everyone.

[fumsm]

10. I work for the suppliers

Times have been rough for a couple years now. Lots of suppliers have set up shop in Mexico and other countries. This last year has been particularly rough. There has been no direction and the loss of 7-8 million vehicles/yr has devastated everyone. Parts lines are running at 50% capacity, if that. Many companies are now starting to close their doors. This goes on in many states, not just Michigan.

I expect that there will be many more closures in the near future. Large companies such as Dow, Bayer, BASF, Magna, Lear, Visteon, Delphi are just holding on. Most if not all have plans to scale back, close facilities, or close completely. Some have already closed and work is being shifted to other companies. But due to pricing structures from the auto companies, this business is rarely profitable.

The ramifications of a severely reduced auto industry will be negative. Tire suppliers, chemical suppliers, steel, plastic, copper, etc will all suffer, as will their suppliers. The trickle down will be bad and widespread. This giant called the auto industry will be dismantled and reemerge as something much less. Foreign suppliers will take what business is left, but they will set the price for vehicles.

This country really does not understand how negative this effect will be on the whole country. We will loose not just our manufacturing capabilities, but also our technological capabilities.

Thank the Republicans most, but also the industry itself was at fault for loosing their advantage to foreign suppliers in the name of high suv profits. Legacy cost such as health care, the single biggest cost, is choking the industry to death. When health care is done with the auto industry, who will be the next victim? I think it has already started.

Unfortunately, I do not see any daylight ahead of us. The only thing that can save the auto industry now is more sales, and in this economy, it is highly doubtful that will happen any time soon.

[cap]

14. technological capabilities are critical....

It is our future in manufacturing that we are talking about. And not just the auto industry... paint, textiles, etc. No money for those industries, no investment in R&D.

[burythehatchet]

11. Obama. Hates. His. Base. - Please understand and accept that. He is a New Democrat

[SemiCharmedQuark]

12. Well there's no arguing with that.

[cap]

13. No.... I think he knows that something immediate and drastic has to happen

to the industry that supports his base. He started as a community organizer for downsizing steel plants. He knows first hand what the impact will be on the people.

As Johnny Cash said, "There aint no easy way out".

But Obama will not commit political suicide. His home is the midwest. All pols take care of their home base.

But let's not hijack this thread. There are other places to discuss Obama's hatred of his base. The focus here is the impact or lack of impact of the demise of the auto industry to the nation.

[TBF]

18. Yeah, I agree. I don't think many on DU really understand the impact

this crash is going to have on the economy. I grew up in the midwest, my dad worked in a foundry, and belonged to a union. I was pretty young so I just remember things like "pouring molds", I have no idea if his factory sold to the car industry but it's certainly possible. This was 30+ years ago.

The bulk of the people out of work will be high school graduates, I assume, hard workers with specialized training for their jobs. Where will they get jobs? How will they live?

[dysfunctional press]

30. i'll believe that he gives a flying fig about the hoi polloi when he rolls out single-payer...

and not a moment before.

[harun]

16. No pain, no gain.

[Hubert Flottz]

17. Yes it will and...

Does anyone remember the stories in civics class about how the auto factories switched over from building cars during WWII and started building airplanes and tanks and how without that option we would all probably be speaking German now?

The next time there's a "World War" we won't have that capability...and we won't have all the steel mills and grade A railroads either. A "superpower" without an industrial base is a paper tiger.

[fumsm]

20. People don't care so long as they have their

Walmarts and Toyota's and Honda's. People are blind, and unwilling to address the serious issues. The future doesn't exist in their minds. They live for today, and worry only about themselves.

[LiberalFighter]

22. Walter Reuther, former President of the UAW was partly responsible

for making the war production happen.

[TahitiNut]

24. Yup. Walter and May Reuther were friends and neighbors of my family out in Rochester.

Good people.

[cap]

26. Reuther rallied the union to come up with solutions for increasing war production

and retooling of Detroit. He took those solutions to FDR.

[LiberalFighter]

21. That Auto Multiplier Effect will also effect taxpayers in those communites.

Because of jobs lost or jobs with reduced pay means everyone will have to pay more property taxes and income taxes then they did before to make up for the lost revenue the communities received.

[cap]

27. And Services will be cut: There goes the school system, hospitals, roads,

nationwide.

We haven't even gotten into the financial system and all those lovely car loans and bonds to the auto industry that got repackaged into securities like mortgages did. There are other state and local governments and countries who are holding those securities... Yes Virginia, there are auto CDO's and auto Credit Default Swaps. Some of them are subprime auto loans and some of them started out as good loans gone bad. In the mix there are good loans but who knows exactly which ones those are.

[blue_onyx]

23. It will, indeed, affect the nation

It seems that some have such a strong hatred of these companies that they would rather see the US auto industry disappear than doing what's best for the economy. I bet these people would be regretting letting the auto companies go under when their job disappears and they're facing foreclosure and going hungry. I hope Obama knows what he is doing. As you point out, the Midwest is a large portion of his base. Losing these states could put his chance for a second term up in the air.

[sense]

28. My brother, who

works for an auto dealer had his salary cut 40% this year, plus all sorts of deferred comp. taken away.