Detroit autoworkers continue to face a bleak future, with up to 25,000 expected to receive temporary layoffs through the fall. However, the news is not all bad, as the auto companies will have to pay the laid off workers over half their wages and also some benefits. Restructuring plans, epitomized in last year's contract negotiations with the UAW, failed to account for consumer choice of smaller cars; this lack of foresight has left the companies inflexible in the types of cars they produce. To solve the problem, they are laying off workers temporarily instead of putting unwanted SUVs up for sale.
See "Long summer seen for Detroit autoworkers", Bill Vlasic and Nick Bunkley, International Herald Tribune, July 2, 2008