05/05/2011 - Indiana Democrats Celebrate Strong Recovery of GM, Chrysler
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2011
Indiana Democrats Celebrate Strong Recovery of GM, Chrysler
President Obama’s Loan Package Saves 1.5 Million American Jobs
INDIANAPOLIS – With President Obama set to visit Allison Transmission in Indianapolis tomorrow, the recovery of the American auto industry is in high gear. American carmakers are profiting and hiring again, and Hoosiers have the President and Indiana Democrats to thank for it.
Today, General Motors announced a quarterly net income of $3.2 billion, profiting for the fifth consecutive quarter. Earlier this week, Chrysler posted a 22.5 percent increase of sales in April and first quarter net income of $116 million, their first quarterly profit since emerging from structured bankruptcy reorganization. This great news is in stark contrast to the situation faced by thousands of autoworkers across, their families and the communities they support just two years ago.
Like those in Indianapolis, small businesses in communities like Marion, Bedford, and Fort Wayne, to name a few, are dependent on an economy fueled by the presence of General Motors, Chrysler, auto suppliers and the jobs they bring. Hundreds of communities just like them across the country faced the possibility that this economic engine would stall out, and Republicans fought against a plan to prevent their demise. But President Barack Obama saw the way forward, and made the tough decision to offer loan packages to General Motors and Chrysler, saving more than 1.5 million jobs across the country and creating more than 26,000 Indiana manufacturing and auto dealer jobs over the last year.
“President Obama carefully weighed the options and risks of providing loan packages to General Motors and Chrysler,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker. “In the face of calls from Republicans and pundits to sit back and let the American automotive giants go bankrupt, President Obama stepped in to ensure that Chrysler and General Motors not only survived, but that they were streamlined for profits. Today, the President’s decision is paying off.”
In November of last year, General Motors’ initial public offering became the biggest in history, raising more than $20 billion. And the government has already recovered more than $23 billion of its investment in General Motors. And recently, General Motors employees were rewarded for their hard work with profit-sharing checks that averaged $4,300. Another 3,000 workers at GM Components holdings received about $3,200.
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