Posted by
Megan Slack on January 10, 2012 at 11:00 AM EST
When President Obama took office, the
American auto industry was shedding jobs
by the hundreds of thousands and GM and Chrysler faced the possibility
of liquidation – which would have caused at least 1 million more jobs to
be lost. The President
made the tough choice to help provide the auto industry the temporary support it needed to grow and prosper.
Today, GM and Chrysler have
repaid their government loans, and the “Big Three” automakers-- GM, Ford, and Chrysler-- are all
adding jobs, generating profit, and investing in their U.S. facilities. Auto
sales climbed in December for the seventh consecutive month and GM,
Chrysler, and Ford saw their market share increase to over 47 percent in
2011, the second straight year that Detroit gained market share against
their foreign competitors, something that had not previously happened
since 1995.
This industry and our economy have a long way yet to go to repair the
damage from this recession and return to full health. But the distance
these companies and the auto industry have traveled over the past two
years is a bright spot on the road to recovery.