auto bailouts

Auto bailouts are government financial interventions to rescue struggling automobile manufacturers from bankruptcy or collapse.

The term became prominent during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, when the U.S. government provided emergency loans and equity investments to General Motors and Chrysler: The auto bailouts saved thousands of jobs but sparked fierce debate about corporate welfare.

Critics saw them as rewarding mismanagement; supporters argued the broader economic fallout of letting major automakers fail would have been catastrophic.