The Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry was an ad hoc group of United States cabinet-level and other officials that was formed by President Barack Obama to deal with the financial bailout of automakers Chrysler and General Motors.
Based on an assessment that automobile manufacturing was a critical sector of the economy providing 3 to 4 million jobs for Americans, that liquidation was imminent for two of the three major U.S. automakers, and that the break ups would devastate the U.S. economy, the U.S. government became involved in the day-to-day management decisions of Chrysler and General Motors through the Task Force.
[5] Recommendations also included directives on improving wage and benefit structures, and developing competitive fuel efficient cars for the future.
In March 2009, the Task Force recommended up to $5 billion in support for automotive industry suppliers,[5] and by late May 2009, following the recommendations of the Task Force, the U.S. government had lent approximately $25 billion in total to the companies.
The U.S. government spent $50 billion to bail out GM, meaning it recovered 77.6 percent of its investment amount.