Friday, September 16, 2011

Obama's "Fiat Fiasco": Can we subtract this from jobs "created or saved"?

Fiat owns about 54% of Chrysler, which it essentially purchased from the US Government after they bought it at a bankruptcy sale with other people's money.   Ah, 2009, and those heady days of optimism:

The sale will fulfill President Barack Obama’s promise of a “quick” trip through bankruptcy and protection of 54,000 jobs. Chrysler Group now starts fresh with lower debt, fewer expenses, reduced labor costs, a well-capitalized financing arm and access to fuel-efficient vehicles and world markets through its Fiat partnership.

The court’s decision allows the creation of a “vibrant new car company” with Fiat, Chrysler said in a statement...Chrysler may begin selling the first Fiat vehicles in as little as 18 months.

So how did Obama do with this deal? Not quite Solyndra....but in some respects, maybe worse:

Alfa Romeo has delayed the U.S. introduction of several key models by at least another year and has cancelled plans to build a mid-sized SUV at Chrysler Group's factory in Toledo, Ohio.

Wester's announcement marks the latest in a series of delays of the U.S. return of Alfa Romeo, the sporty brand of Fiat S.p.A....



Two things you won't be seeing in local dealerships...

So what of Obama's "promise" to save 54,000 jobs?  Broken, like his economy.  I have to imagine that some folks were being kept on the Chrysler payroll in anticipation of the Fiat-owned Alfa Romeo workload; I expect the Toledo Unemployment Office is about to get a bit busier.
That is, if the government allows it.  Another spike in jobless figures can't be good news for the president, you know.  I would not be surprised if  Chrysler might have to pay additional, unforeseen "interest" on all that government money they took. As in paying thousands of employees to sit around and do nothing. Lie down with fleas, and all that....

Another shrewd business decision by Barack H. Obama, super-genius.  I see GM stock is at $22 today, and how much of that sh*t were the taxpayers forced to buy at $33?  If he was my investment manager, I'd have canned his ass a long time ago.. Then again, I never would have hired him in the first place.

Bottom line?  The next time Democrats crow about jobs saved or created by the stimulus/bailouts, ask them how many we should subtract based on the Fiat Fiasco...

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