Archive for the ‘Detroit’ Category

Michigan Jobless Rate Leaps to 14.1%

Michigan’s jobless rate hit 14.1 percent in May, a near-26 year high, according to data released today by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth .

The U.S. unemployment rate rose by half a percentage point in May, to 9.4 percent.

“Major events continued to unfold in Michigan’s auto industry in May, which had a considerable impact on the state’s unemployment rate,” said Rick Waclawek, director of the state’s Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. “Curtailed production negatively influenced suppliers and other related sectors, resulting in further weakening in the labor market.”

It’s the highest monthly rate recorded in the state since July 1983. Since May 2008, unemployment has jumped by 274,000 people, or 67.2 percent. Unemployment nationally rose by a slightly larger 70.0 percent in the same period.

“It’s not good,” said Gov. Jennifer Granholm, at a Lansing press conference Wednesday

It’s getting pretty hard to stay optimistic in Detroit.

How much more pain does the state of Michigan have to endure?

The Detroit Red Wings gave us a great season.  Just wish they could of finished the job and won the cup for us.

This town really could of used the boost.

There’s Joy in Detroit

Red Wings fans showing their hometown pride during the Stanley Cup finals against the Penguins. Game 7 is Friday night in Detroit.

DETROIT — The Motor City has been hit by pretty much every crisis imaginable this last year, save for famine and a plague of grasshoppers.

Its mayor resigned and went to jail. Two of its three car companies wound up in bankruptcy. Unemployment soared to the highest level for any metropolitan area in the nation, and the wrecking crews showed up to take apart Detroit’s beloved Tiger Stadium.

But this week, sports is providing a much-needed lift to this beaten-down city.

The Red Wings face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals Friday night, and Detroit is hoping for a repeat of last year’s championship.

Red Wings players, many of whom have grown traditional playoff beards, know they bear a special burden in giving Detroit a reason to celebrate.

“This has been an unbelievable run for our city and for our state, just because of the economy here,” Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s been absolutely fantastic. Now we’ve got to finish it off.”

GM Plant Closures Will Hit Michigan Hard

General Motor Corp. is drastically shrinking its footprint in Michigan, closing another six factories by the end of next year. The company announced the names of the 11 plants that will close by the end of next year — and a 12th that will close in 2011.

GM will close Lake Orion assembly by September — though it will be on standby — and close permanently its Pontiac assembly plant by October. The Spring Hill, Tenn. plant will close in November and also go on standby. GM’s Wilmington, Del., plant will close next month.

On the powertrain side, Livonia Engine will close in June 2010, Flint North Components in December 2010, Willow Run in December 2010, Parma Components in December 2010 and Fredericksburg, Va., components in December 2010.

GM Filed Ch. 11 Bankruptcy This Morning

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday, a move once viewed as unthinkable but became inevitable after years of losses and market share declines that were capped by a dramatic plunge in sales in recent months.

In the end, even $19.4 billion in federal help wasn’t enough to keep the nation’s largest automaker out of bankruptcy. The government will pour another $30 billion into GM to fund operations during its reorganization.

Taxpayers will end up with a 60% stake in GM, with the union, its creditors and federal and provincial governments in Canada owning the remainder of the company.

Nearly a dozen plants will be identified for closure by 2010, resulting in 20,000 job losses. Three more plants are set to be idled and put on stand by status in hopes for a rebound in sales that may never come.

GM will also shed its Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Saab brands and cut loose more than 2,000 of its 6,000 U.S. dealerships by next year. That will likely result in more than 100,000 additional job losses.

More than 650,000 retirees and their family members who depend on the company for health insurance will experience cutbacks in their coverage, although their pension benefits are unaffected for now.

GM Filing Ch. 11 Bankruptcy Monday in New York

General Motors Corp. president and Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson will hold a mid-day news conference from the GM Building in New York on Monday, the day the 100-year-old automaker is expected to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

GM, which has lost nearly $90 billion since 2005, is expected to file bankruptcy in U.S. District Court in New York, where rival Chrysler LLC is undergoing a court-ordered restructuring. President Barack Obama also plans to address the nation Monday on GM’s planned court restructuring.

Chrysler Files For Bankruptcy

Washington — The White House will force Chrysler LLC to file for bankruptcy protection today, after talks between the Treasury Department and the Auburn Hills automaker’s creditors failed last night to reach an agreement.

“This will be quick, it will be efficient, it is designed to deal with those last few holdouts” who blocked an out-of-court restructuring, President Barack Obama said in a televised announcement from the White House. Obama pledged the bankruptcy filing would not disrupt the company’s operations or the lives of its workers.

The president had harsh words for the group of investment companies and hedge funds that balked at a debt restructuring. “I do not stand with them,” Obama said, calling them “speculators” who sought to endanger Chrysler’s future for their own benefit.