US automakers in Europe

GM’s subsidiary in Britain has been in tough times as of late. This former employee of the subsidiary and now trade union leader believes bad times in the U.S. industry is bad news for auto workers here. As sales fall, car plants are cutting back on shifts or are planning longer shutdowns over the Christmas holidays. This former Ford executive doesn’t see any buyers out there if these companies did try to sell. So what’s left? The talk of bailouts has reached these shores, but for now the details are vague. This analyst does expect the plight of the auto industry to be discussed at the G20 summit this weekend, but history tells them automakers shouldn’t expect much. This union leader isn’t giving up that easily and he wants a joint agreement with autoworkers in the U.S. to get the message out especially to the incoming president. For him and many others, the auto industry is seen as the backbone of the Western economy which is reason enough, they say, to not let it fail on either side of the Atlantic.