U.S. government’s aid to auto industry has saved 1 million jobs

A study by the Center for Automotive Research, an auto industry think tank, says that the government assistance to GM and Chrysler saved more than 1 million jobs in 2009 alone, and another 314,000 jobs in 2010.

“To date, $13.4 billion in principal has been repaid on the government’s $80 billion U.S. investment in the automotive industry. This study shows that $28.6 billion in net losses to the U.S. Treasury were averted by the policy to provide federal assistance to General Motors and Chrysler,” said Sean McAlinden, executive vice president of research and chief economist at CAR. “With this in mind, CAR’s analysis shows the government need only recover $38 billion of the remaining $66.6 billion outstanding investment in this industry to achieve a two-year break-even.”

And there’s good news for America; Detroit’s market share held up much better than expected in this contracted automotive market, beating out many analysts forecasts and predictions.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: The Detroit Bureau