I don't remember GM ever doing anything like this before, not firing people and putting them out on the street with a box. They were called 'Mother GM' for a reason.
It really seems to infuriate a lot of Americans. They give the rich people that live on (bond) coupon clipping in resorts all over the world a full pass. But when some autoworker spends weeks or months on a system making that much money, it drives people crazy.
As Ford gets smaller, Michigan will get smaller. One hundred thousand people left the state in the last two years, and this will accelerate in the wake of Monday's announcement.
There will be another burst of gypsy moves. GM will have to move another 20,000 to 30,000 in the next two to three years. You're really going to have to get a lot of these people to retire or move back to Michigan and Ohio.