If they cannot sustain a profit how critical could they possibly be? And why would eliminating the wasteful nonessentials that you would in reorganization hutr them?
Very. The wages they pay flow into local economies that would be ghost towns without it, causing all manner of small business failures.
They are vital to helping with the trade imbalance, internationally.
They are vital to raw materials producers and sub assembly manufacturers.
Part two:
One man's waste is another man's customer. And it's not waste, in fact. It was being on the wrong path at the wrong time. US auto makers were the envy and highly-copied. Every maker yearned for Pickup Truck and SUV windfall profits, in the range of $5000 per vehicle, compared to about $800 for a family sedan.
Then gas prices go through the roof, and they're left holding 100s of acres of product that are suddenly market losers. Dealers are losing blood. Credit guarantees have to be made to push some stale products off the lots. It was a nightmare that caught them on their heals.
And re-orgs do not fix that. Just keeping creditors at bay for a time would have done shit. They need money, lots of it, to get back in the game we have today. And they did, with remarkable acumen and lightning speed. Chrysler especially, in partnership with Fiat, is doing amazing stuff and coming back to be a serious player on the global stage. Merely one example of how quickly American Know-How can get back on top after being too far behind to get there without our help.
And the industry will pay us back dividends in employment, foriegn sales, GDP growth, profits, huge purchases from third-party parts suppliers, etc. We'll get it back and more, in many, MANY multiples.