In 2009, the Obama administration bailed out automakers General Motors and Chrysler. After beginning their descent into bankruptcy in 2008, losing thousands of jobs, sales dropping 40 percent, with a strong threat of liquidation, General Motors and Chrysler finally reached Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the help government in 2009. Obama allocated eighty-five billion dollars in TARP funds. to the automobile industry, of which nearly fifty billion dollars will be returned to General Motors. The allocated funds helped keep two of the Big Three automakers afloat, preventing taxes from skyrocketing and saving millions of jobs. By the end of 2008, General Motors was in financial difficulty due to some significant financial liabilities. These included extremely expensive employment contracts, extremely high pension costs that also included health care, and an outdated and overgrown dealer distribution system that needed to be updated. According to its quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, General Motors was to pay more than seven and a half billion dollars in early 2010 to pre-finance the UAW retiree health fund and at least forty-five billion to its creditors. Chrysler's financial data was not available because it is not a publicly traded company, but CEO Robert Nardelli said Chrysler would not be able to survive without government assistance. The Big Three automakers, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford also had a very demanding union, the United Auto Workers or UAW, which demanded numerous benefits and wage requirements that reduced their ability to compete with other companies in the market. , foreign and non-union. . The average...... middle of paper ......2011.• "All's well that ends well." July 2011 Assembly: 6. General OneFile. Internet. November 26, 2011. • “Is the recovery of the automobile industry a “success story?” » » Internet Wire, November 24, 2010. General OneFile. Internet. Nov. 25, 2011. • “Obama optimistic about economic recovery. » Hindu [English] August 1, 2010.General OneFile. Internet. November 25, 2011.• “What you have. » US Department of the Treasury. NP, 2010. Web. November 26, 2011. .• Olsen, Steve. "GM and Chrysler bail out a hit." Standard Examiner. Np, 01/19/2011. Internet. November 26, 2011. .• Zywicki, Todd. “Auto Salvage and the Rule of Law.” National affairs. NP, 2011. Web. November 26 2011. .