Theodor de Bry’s 1590 engraving of Secoton, from John White’s watercolors. Public domain.
General Motors and Chrysler went through bankruptcy in 2009 with the federal government in the deal.
If money is tight, a plant that stays open is the only version of this story that pays the rent.
If you are in the middle, a car company in court is a supplier town holding its breath.
If you have savings, the old shareholders were largely wiped out and the government became an owner.
Chrysler filed in April 2009 and General Motors in June, after federal loans had kept both alive through the winter.
The reorganizations cut dealers, debts, and workers, and they kept the factories from a disorderly stop.
Unemployment in the country reached 10 percent that October.
Source: Chrysler and General Motors bankruptcies, 2009; Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment at 10 percent in October 2009.