I’ve already blogged about the efforts of some Republican senators to kill the proposed auto bailout bill and blame the failure of that bill on the United Auto Workers, and I also warned about the possible domino effect that could result if one or more of the domestic auto manufacturers closed its doors. No sooner had I clicked “publish” and I happened across this headline from Talking Points Memo:
General Motors Temporarily Closing 20 Factories Across North America
According to TPM, GM is temporarily closing 20 factories across North America, while also making broad cuts to its vehicle production:
GM said it will cut 250,000 vehicles from its production schedule for the first quarter of 2009, which includes a cut of 60,000 vehicles announced last week. Normal production would be around 750,000 cars and trucks for the quarter, spokesman Tony Sapienza said.
Many plants will be shut down for the whole month of January, he said, and all told, the factories will be closed for 30 percent of the quarter.
Things are certainly bad, but something tells me they’re going to get worse…
People aren’t buying cars, especially GM cars, and all the bailout money in the world isn’t going to change that fact.
BTW, the bailout money will be forthcoming, the UAW has too much clout and spent too much campaign money for that not to happen.
Elrond, you raise a good point. People aren’t buying cars right now, no matter which manufacturer we talk about, but I still think it’s important to do what we can to ensure the continued viability of the domestic auto industry. Obviously the domestic auto industry can’t continue to operate as they were before the economic downturn, and I hope that whatever money they do get – if they do in fact get some bailout money – will be strictly monitored and tied to certain conditions.