William Gaskin represents 1100 North American companies as head of the Precision Metalforming Association in Independence. He worried the Obama administration's auto task force was missing the impact of the economic crunch on the little guys in the automotive supply chain. So he and the heads of three other associations that represent smaller car parts makers went to their members to see how they were doing.
William Gaskin: The average company had 170 employees last year and by February this year they had 108. Well that's an awful lot of jobs at an awful lot of companies.
And 44 percent of survey respondents say they will be even more severely impacted if General Motors files for bankruptcy. Gaskin says smaller auto parts makers worry about not getting paid on invoices, future business, and accessing credit. General Motors has until June 1 to present the Obama administration with a workable restructuring plan or file for bankruptcy.