November 19th, 2008 by Reed Allmand 
Auto companies facing possible job losses and sinking profits, such as General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC asked congress for as much as $25 billion in emergency loans from the financial industry bailout. Opponents of an auto industry bailout describe the automakers as dinosaurs who have failed to adapt to global changes unlike their foreign competitors. Opponents of any bailout say that although millions of workers may be laid off if the automakers don’t improve their financial picture; the job losses are inevitable because many American automakers’ operations are bloated and inefficient. The White House has an alternative financial bailout plan for automakers to avert new job losses. The White House plan would allow automakers to take $25 billion in loans previously approved for developing fuel-efficient vehicles and use that money for their immediate needs.
I think the opponents of the auto industry bailout have a good point. Unfortunately American automakers are being forced to sustain job losses and profit losses because they have failed to adapt to a rapidly changing marketplace. Using money earmarked for developing new fuel efficient technology is a huge mistake; robbing Peter to pay Paul will not save millions of jobs in the American auto industry. Job losses are unfortunately unavoidable and those workers must be retrained for a new and improved American auto industry.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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