Not exactly true, GM had $51 billion in losses in the 3 years prior to the 2008 recession. Factories in Michigan were being shut down long before that with operations being moved to lower cost locations -- locations that were lower cost specifically because they were either overseas or right-to-work states. Claiming that unions had nothing to do with the automotive crisis is to misunderstand the automotive industry. The financial crisis was traumatic to the auto companies because even with a shift away from union manufacturing, the overall drop in worldwide demand was the straw that broke the camel's back. The auto companies were on life support before the global recession.