It can be said that 2009 was a difficult year for the auto industry. From bailouts to bankruptcies, America’s Big Three—General Motors, Chrysler and Ford suffered major losses and struggled to stay afloat in the weak economy.
So as we begin a new year and a new decade, here is a look back to 2009’s major events that impacted America’s automakers:
March 2009:
- President Barack Obama called upon then-chairman and CEO of GM Rick Wagoner to resign and unveiled a plan to help America’s automakers with additional funds and loans. This was a sign of the financial troubles for the Big Three to come.
April 2009:
- On April 20, 2009, Chrysler filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection as news emerges that the Italian automaker, Fiat, would become the majority owner. By this time, Chrysler had already received about $25 billion in aid.
May 2009
- Both Chrysler and GM closed an unprecedented number of car dealerships. Chrysler closed 780 or about one-quarter of their dealers and GM announced they would close 1,100 of its dealers, almost 18 percent of its total number of dealers.
June 2009
- On June 1, 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that it would close 14 American factories and cut up to 21,000 jobs. With these cuts in its American workforce, GM will have fewer than 40,000 workers building cars in the United States—almost one-tenth of the 395,000 workers they employed in the 1970s.
- Chrysler emerged after a 42-day overhaul under its new owner, Fiat.
- Congress passed the Car Allowance Rebate System (also known as Cash for Clunkers) which gave consumers up to $4,500 to trade their gas guzzling clunkers in for a more fuel-efficient new vehicle.
July 2009
- GM came out of bankruptcy and placed its most valuable brands, including Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC into a new company called Vehicle Acquisition Company, but soon to be named General Motors Company.
- Because of the success of the Cash for Clunkers program, the government added an additional $2 billion to the program designed to stimulate American auto sales.
August 2009
- GM became the first U.S. auto manufacture to sell its new cars and trucks on eBay in an attempt to increase their sales and their market share in the American auto industry.
December 2009
- GM announced that it would shut down its Swedish car brand, Saab, after attempts to reach a deal with potential buyers failed. Both Swedish car maker Konigsegg and Dutch carmaker Spyker made bids for Saab, however, GM declined to accept either bid. Approximately 3,400 employees will be affected by the decision to close Saab.
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