Thaindian News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – The U.S. auto industry has recovered dramatically after nearly collapsing only one year ago, Lawrence H. Summers of the White House Blog said Wednesday.

The American auto industry was driving on what seemed a 90 degree downfall, but General Motors announced Wednesday that it had repaid its $6.7 billion loan to the U.S. government in full five years ahead of schedule. Chrysler announced that produced an operating profit in the first quarter of 2010 for the first time since the economic crisis began.

President Obama made the difficult decision to provide GM and Chrysler with financial support if they proved to be able to restructure their businesses into a long-term viability without ongoing government assistance. This decision not only aided the aforementioned companies, but the whole American auto industry as well.

Summers reported that in 2008, the American auto industry lost over 400,000 jobs with analysts estimating that at least one million more jobs could have been lost had GM and Chrysler liquidated, but over the past nine months, since GM and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, the industry added 45,000 jobs, which represents the strongest pace of job growth in the auto industry in nearly a decade.

Despite the worldwide economic issues, the past 12 months have been vital for the recovery road of these companies and the American auto industry in general.