Auto collapse to result in 5.8 lakh job losses

TORONTO: Canada could lose more than 5,80,000 jobs within five years if Detroit���s Big Three automakers go out of business ��� most of them in Ontario, says a report. The review, prepared for Ontario���s Ministry of Economic Development, warns that the collapse of GM, Ford and Chrysler would send lasting shock waves through the economy.

If auto output by US-based manufacturers in Canada were cut in half, at least 157,400 jobs would be lost right away, 141,000 of them in Ontario.

By 2014, job losses would rise to 296,000 nationally, including 269,000 in Ontario. If production were to cease completely, 323,000 jobs would be lost immediately in Canada, rising to 5,82,000 nationally and 5,17,000 in Ontario by 2014.

The Ontario Manufacturing Council, a provincial government panel, commissioned the report. The report paints a gloomy picture if the provincial government and Ottawa and US do not bail out the automakers.