A Dose of Reality

Given the current economic conditions, it isn't surprising that people are cautious and fearful.

Like this week, for example, when Chrysler announced that it was closing down operations for a month.

"The company said the plants, which employ 46,000 union workers, would resume production no sooner than Jan. 19," reports Nick Bunkley in the New York Times. "Some will remain closed for several more weeks."

The announcement sent ripples of shock waves through an already apprehensive workforce — "If I were a Chrysler worker, I'd be worried that the plant won't reopen," Brian Johnson, a Barclays Capital analyst, told the Washington Post — but is that the appropriate response?

I'm certainly no expert, but I did work for Citigroup for several years and we had a working relationship with Chrysler in the last few years I was there.

I had no direct dealings with the manufacturing end of things — my role was to perform verifications on customer information — but there were certainly times when I saw loans cross my desk that I would not have approved for any one of a number of reasons.

There was always someone, whether in the office or on the other end of the telephone line, who had the authority to overrule any issues that came up and permit the deal to proceed.

A friend of mine (who also no longer works for Citi) was much more involved with the manufacturers than I ever was.

I asked him, by e-mail, what he makes of this month-long shutdown.

"I don't think it is a big deal except for employees of the factories," he replied. "Normally, they are off two weeks at Christmas. Then another two weeks usually during the summer for re-tooling. This is basically for that duration. They may extend it, but it is okay for now."

Automakers are having trouble selling what they've already produced, he told me. That's certainly not a surprise.

"There is a glut of cars and nowhere to put them," my friend said. "Why not stop for a while, save some money, and get the inventory down which costs the dealers and manufacturers money? The employees will get paid a little from Chrysler and from the state for temporary unemployment.

"Makes sense, but it does stink as a sign of the overall market."

In today's economy, the hardest thing to do is advise people to be calm and patient.

But, if my friend is correct — and I have no reason to believe he is not — what auto workers need to do is be patient for a month and see what happens. That's what their employer plans to do.

"No one will return to work any earlier than Jan. 19," Chrysler spokesperson Shawn Morgan told the Washington Post. "I don't want to get into speculating about what may happen after that. ... We're going to continue to monitor the situation."