Nov 19, 2008 6:33 pm US/Eastern
Maryland Workers May Be Affected By Auto Crisis
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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General Motors has deep ties to Maryland. Thousands of workers once made their livelihoods here.
CBS
General Motors has deep ties to Maryland. Thousands of workers once made their livelihoods here.
Mike Hellgren reports although the impact of the Big 3 is smaller in the state now, it could still impact thousands of people from current employees to retirees.
Hundreds of auto workers in Maryland are in the middle as this crisis unfolds. Caught in a web of uncertainty, auto workers are looking to the future with worried eyes in this shaky economy and retirees are worried about a collapse that could affect their pensions and healthcare.
Two years before pleading to Congress for a multi-billion dollar bailout, GM's CEO was singing the praises of the last big GM facility in Maryland, the White Marsh transmission plant. Right now, it employs 300 workers, down from 400 plus at its peak. That plant did not get hit by the latest round of layoffs. Some Marylanders also work at the plant in Newport, Del.
"We are talking about the automobile industry, which is in every state, every community, so when we help them, we help ourselves," said Senator Barbara Mikulski. "People are losing their jobs and we must act now."
The last big blow to the state's auto industry came in 2005, when Baltimore's Broening Highway plant closed for good after 70 years of making cars and trucks. It employed 1,100 workers at its closing and 7,000 at its peak.
The auto industry says if they fall, it would cost $3 million nationwide.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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