General Motors is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the United States. It accounts for about one percent of jobs in the United States. The company, which sold more than 219,000 vehicles in November last year alone, managed to sell 155,000 cars and trucks to the American public, a 41 percent drop from last year. GM car sales of 58,786 were down 44 percent and truck sales of 96,091 were down 39 percent. The sharp decline in vehicle sales is largely due to a significant decline in retail demand in the market compared to last year and continued economic uncertainty which has affected consumer confidence. General Motors' market shares have always been low, but they recently plunged to 20 percent starting in 1980. I've included a chart that shows the decline of the entire auto industry. GM, of course, is no ordinary company. With a turnover of 193 billion dollars, it constitutes an icon of American industrial power in decline. After all, GM's payroll puts $8.7 billion a year into the pockets of its assembly workers. Directly or indirectly, it supports nearly 900,000 jobs, from auto parts workers to copywriters to car salesmen to office supply sellers. When GM closed its doors for 54 days during a labor action in 1998, it knocked the U.S. economic growth rate that quarter by a percentage point. So what is bad for General Motors may be bad for America as a country. General Motors is in big trouble, but not so much where help from Congress or a corporate change wouldn't change. Yes, it will affect employment for a while, but it should pick up again in a few years or even months. If the bailout goes through, it won't do anything for General Motors. This will keep them in business for another 4 to 5 years. That a... middle of paper...... an unforeseen event that happens in their lives or in a company's products or assets. The way General Motors might be able to repair itself without government help is to ask the union to disregard its contract and lifetime pension benefits rather than start a fight. Nothing will be available to the unions or the head of General Motors if the company goes under. The only thing that stands out from past statistics is that the union never agreed to make a huge mid-contract comeback, but it did in 1980 when the federal government demanded concessions under the bailout of Chrysler and again for Ford in 1980. 1981. GM's Kowaleski responds that there may be ways to get what GM wants while giving the union something in return: "Don't underestimate not the scale of intrigues that can result in a win-win situation for everyone.."