US President Barack Obama will visit three auto plants in the next two weeks, the White House said, on a trip intended to show that auto industry bailout programs have worked. Obama will visit Chrysler and General Motors Co plants in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan, on Friday, July 30, and a Ford Motor Co plant in Chicago on August 5.
Both GM and Chrysler were restructured in 2009 in bankruptcies steered and funded by the Obama administration. The two companies used the bankruptcies to cut labour costs and dealerships in the United States in a bid to become profitable at much lower industry sales rates.
Obama also sought to boost the auto industry with the government-backed "cash-for-clunkers" sales incentive plan that offered consumers up to $4,500 if they traded in older gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles. The Hamtramck GM plant is one of nine GM kept open during a scheduled summer production shutdown and the Chrysler plant just added a second shift, bringing about 1,100 jobs. The Ford plant has announced plans to add 1,200 new jobs, the White House said.
Boosting the economy and easing the stubbornly high US unemployment rate is critical for Obama's fellow Democrats as they fight to keep their majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives in November's mid-term elections. Chrysler is now under the management control of Italy's Fiat SpA.
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