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Auto dealers in Colorado are feeling their share of the pain from the recent bankruptcies of American automakers. Chrysler says it will shut down 789 of nearly 3,200 auto dealerships around the country by mid-June, and Colorado will suffer thirteen of the closures. Colorado has 44 Chrysler dealers and the closures are spread across the state, although they’re concentrated in urban areas, according to this list from 7News.
“I don’t think we’ve seen all of it,” Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, tells The Denver Post. “This is just the first shoe to drop.”
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Each dealer employs between 60 and 80 workers, but some of the businesses could survive since they sell other brands. The Associated Press takes a nationwide tour of dealerships to meet the families that will suffer the losses. Marketwatch says closures from Chrysler as well as General Motors could eliminate up to 150,000 jobs across the country.
GM dealers will be next for a shakedown: The company says it will drop 1,100 dealers nationwide by 2010, reports Bloomberg, and has hinted it will propose a similar bankruptcy restructuring to Chrysler’s, according to Reuters. The looming cuts have Colorado car dealers braced for more heartbreak, writes the Greeley Tribune. The Los Angeles Times offers a breakdown of how the closures could affect warranties, financing deals, service agreements, and trade-ins.