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Colorado Car Dealers Slashing Jobs Amid Slump

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Nov 19, 2008 6:29 am US/Mountain

Colorado Car Dealers Slashing Jobs Amid Slump

Reporting
Jodi Brooks
DENVER (AP/CBS4) ― Colorado car dealers say they're laying off workers because sales are plummeting, and they want Congress to step in to keep U.S. automakers afloat.

New-car sales in the state are expected to drop between 20 percent and 25 percent this year, said Tim Jackson of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.

Jackson said Monday that the state's dealers have slashed staff by about 10 percent this year, with many of those cuts coming between Friday and Monday.

He said he knows of some dealerships that cut at least 10 percent of their staffs on Monday alone. He declined to name them.

"It's unfortunate. It's sad. It's a sign of the times," he said.

Jackson flew to Washington late Tuesday to lobby Colorado's Congressional delegation to get behind the auto industry financial bill.

Not everyone is buying the call for a bailout. Many consumers said they're not sympathetic.

"I kind of feel like no one is bailing me out with my bills so, why should we be bailing out them for theirs?" said Paula Haight, a woman who drives a Ford.

"I think a lot of these companies got themselves into this mess, and they need to get themselves out," said Miriam Babcock, another Ford driver.

"It's not handout, it's not a bailout," Jackson said. "It's not a gift or a gimmee. It is a loan, a guaranteed loan."

AutoNation's work force in the metro Denver region has declined to 1,200 from 1,400 in the past five months, said Steve Strader, president of the local market.

John Medved, who runs the Colorado company with the same name, said he has reduced his total staff to 285, from about 600 several years ago.

Car dealers say if the automakers go under, they would take more jobs and even some dealerships with them.

"I'd love to see market forces at play," Strader said. "But our country is not in a position to allow that to happen. Right now there is too much at stake."

The dealers said some consumers are reluctant to make a big purchase now with the economy in decline, while others who want to buy can't get a loan, or are afraid they'll be turned down if they apply for one.

"The credit foundation has been knocked out from under the economy," Strader said.

Another factor in the decline, the dealers say, is the fact that Detroit is building better cars that last longer and don't have to be replaced as soon as older models.

The dealers association said the automotive retail industry accounts for nearly 30,000 jobs in the state and generates more than $418 million in revenue for state and local governments.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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