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Detroit Free Press ..By Justin Hyde ..Jan. 18, 2007

Despite the massive buyouts at General Motors and Ford, American automakers will still support 2.5 times more jobs for every vehicle they build in the United States than their foreign competitors, according to a new report by a domestic industry promotion group.

The Level Field Institute projects the U.S. auto industry will lose 42,750 jobs this year, falling to 378,250 workers. The decline comes from expected cuts at GM, Ford and the Chrysler Group. Level Field expects foreign automakers to add about 3,000 jobs to raise their total U.S. employment to 106,000.

Even after the cuts, the Detroit automakers will employ 33 U.S. workers, including white- and blue-collar employees, per 1,000 vehicles sold, compared with 14 workers per 1,000 vehicles for foreign brands. Chrysler leads with 42 workers per thousand, followed by Ford at 31 and GM at 29.

Few foreign automakers develop new vehicles in the United States, and those that do still rely heavily on foreign engineering for many parts.