GM and Chrysler Bankruptcies Cost 250,000 Their Jobs

The bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler have obviously been big news. The practical side is they will end up costing 250,000 people their jobs. That is simply brutal.

The bankruptcy filing of two of the “big three” in Detroit has been a shock to the system of the United States. It isn’t so much that these behemoths have fallen as it is seen by many as a sign of the time with the United States starting to fall apart. Whether this is true or just the atmosphere created by a very rough 2008 and 2009 is hard to tell. Only time will tell.

What is clear is the impact of the bankruptcy filings is not going to end for some time. While a quarter million people are expected to lose their jobs, the actually process will not be a one time event. It is expected this will occur over the next year and a half as the bankruptcy cases move forward and the companies pop back out into the regular market.

So, just how many people is this? Well, consider this simple example. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, there were approximately 250,000 people working each day in New Orleans. While it is not as many as lived in New Orleans, it is still a staggering number any way you look at it. To give you another perspective, consider St. Paul, Minnesota is roughly 270,000 residents.

The really sad news is many experts suspect the 250,000 may actually be a bit low. How so? Well, it has to do with the sell off of assets. Hummer has been sold to a Chinese group. How long will the manufacturing of the SUV beast remain in the U.S.? It looks like no more than two years or so. The same should be true for other brands that are sold off to foreign companies.



Things could actually get much worse fairly quickly. GM needs to get in and then out of bankruptcy as fast as possible. If the case drags on and on, however, the company will likely fail outright and be liquidated. It has been estimated that could cost a total of 1.7 million people their jobs. Hopefully, the bankruptcy filing will go smoothly.

There is no doubt that the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler have been brutal. The loss of 250,000 jobs is nothing to laugh about. Heck, most people are not even crying. They are just in shock.

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