U.S. carmakers key for North American economy: CAW

DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. automakers are “incredibly important” to the North American economy and a failure of even the smallest Detroit automaker would result in the loss of as many as 70,000 jobs in Canada alone, Canadian Auto Workers union Ken Lewenza said on Tuesday.

Lewenza, in a telephone interview, said he hopes the U.S. Congress understands that General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC are a key part of the economies in both United States and Canada.

“I am hopeful that Washington politicians will recognize the importance of the auto industry to the economy, and that’s not just the U.S. economy, but the North American economy,” he said. “It’s incredibly important and I hope there is a recognition of that in the Congress.”

Detroit automakers have sought emergency assistance to help them survive a steep and worsening drop in sales they blame on the global credit crisis and slumping economy.

Reuters