DETROIT (AFP)--The storied U.S. auto industry is finally
"hitting bottom" with dual bankruptcy filings by Chrysler and GM
after a decade of uncertainty that has seen hundreds of thousands
of jobs lost, Michigan's governor said Monday.
Jennifer Granholm, who heads the state that is home to Detroit's
Big Three - Chrysler, Ford and General Motors - insisted that the
companies and her state will emerge leaner and meaner, and that
U.S. taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars will eventually
get their money back.
"I think it is going to work," Granholm told CNN early Monday,
just minutes before number one U.S. automaker GM filed for
bankruptcy. But not without a load of hurt first, she warned.
"This summer, it's going to be really, really tough in
Michigan," the governor said. "But at the end of this, we can
finally see that we are hitting bottom."
"These auto companies ... have been in the middle of
restructuring plans since the year 2000, so we have lost hundreds
of thousands of jobs and the uncertainty of not knowing when bottom
was going to arrive has made it much more difficult."
GM filed for bankruptcy protection Monday just hours after a
judge approved the bankruptcy of Chrysler and its sale to Italy's
Fiat, marking the end of an era of American manufacturing dominance
as GM, once the world's largest corporation, collapses under the
weight of its mistakes and debts.
Senior officials in President Barack Obama's administration
detailed what they hope will be a swift process in which GM should
be able to reemerge from bankruptcy protection as a new, leaner
company within 60 to 90 days.
The U.S. government's investment in GM in the form of emergency
loans and financing will reach about $50 billion, as Washington
acquires a 60% stake in the new company.
But "the Obama administration does not want to be operating this
company or Chrysler; the Obama administration wants to have a
strong viable domestic auto industry," Granholm insisted.
"You have to get through this restructuring in a way that
positions them for success and not for failure, and ultimately the
taxpayers will get their money back.