Not sure why you're being downvoted. That's a huge part of the reason: Due to the nature of the auto industry, many suppliers only have a few customers; take aw

Not sure why you're being downvoted. That's a huge part of the reason: Due to the nature of the auto industry, many suppliers only have a few customers; take away a third of a company's business, and there's a good chance it will fail. The entire economy of Michigan (and many neighboring states) would have collapsed. Over here in West Michigan, we have many companies—ranging from mom-and-pop injection mold shops with 50 employees to large companies like Gentex, Delphi, etc. Those companies were already struggling back in 2008; GM going away would have meant the death of most of them. I hate many of GM's historical business practices as much as anyone (there used to be two streetcar lines within a quarter-mile of my home, dammit), but the saving of GM was a critical component in preventing a catastrophic depression, especially for Michigan—which was already suffering before the Great Recession hit.