Daily Auto News Obama Auto Task Force Working Against Deadline, Public Anger
Daily Auto News
“The work is incredibly intense. The amount of work is massive, the timelines are tight and the level of focus is also very high.” Sound like a job you could handle? According to the Detroit News, that’s how the Obama administration’s auto industry task force describes its work environment in an e-mail seeking applicants for four new positions.
The task force faces a deadline of March 31 to decide whether the government will continue to provide funds to General Motors and Chrysler while the companies attempt to restructure. The Wall Street Journal explains, “Industry observers have been anticipating March 31 as a sort of D-Day for the industry, with the government releasing its findings on GM and Chrysler, including whether the companies should receive more aid or be pushed into bankruptcy court.” However, “A task force member, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity this week because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the record, attempted to tamp down the expectation of a wholesale, one-shot bailout, instead suggesting a longer, more drawn-out process.”
Chief advisor Steven Rattner told the Detroit Free Press that “the task force will produce some kind of framework for considering additional help for the industry before the end of the month,” he said. Such a framework “could include deadlines for the automakers to reach agreements with bondholders and the UAW, talks he has previously said were difficult.”
The task force also faces an enormous political hurdle – public opinion. In a separate story, the Detroit Free Press reports, “More than three in five Americans — 61% — oppose more government loans to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, according to a R.L. Polk survey released Monday that is consistent with other recent opinion research.” Further aid isn’t even popular in areas heavily dependent on auto industry jobs. “In the Great Lakes region, where auto manufacturing is more prevalent, 16% “strongly agreed” when asked by Polk if they supported loans for GM and Chrysler. That compares with only 4% in the New England region.”
The task force is apparently working hard as the deadline approaches. Kicking Tires reports, “GM CEO Rick Wagoner confirmed that the auto team is basically working around the clock, and that his company gets emails from the thin staff nearly every day at any hour.”
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