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Jobless Rate Surges to 14-Year High; Ford Posts Abysmal Third Quarter Numbers; Pink Slip Blues

Aired November 07, 2008 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, November 7th. And here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Issue #1, the economy. The jobless rate surging to a 14-year high today. The number of Americans who have lost their jobs this year now tops -- listen to this -- one million.

The president-elect diving right into the economic muddle, working the phones with world leaders, meeting his economic team today to find solutions.

Good morning everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Mr. President-elect, you're not kidding. Your job just got a lot tougher here.

An election night reality check from the new man at the top. Don't look for the economic recovery to begin January 21st. Alarming new jobless numbers bear that out today. They indicate the economy has not found the bottom and may be far from it.

Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff now joining us from New York.

And Allan, if you would, just give us the numbers, just the facts.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Tony, the facts are very sad right now. Unemployment rate shooting up to 6.5 percent. That is a huge increase in one month. It had been only 6.1 percent back in September. This is the highest unemployment rate in 14 years, more than 14 years.

And the job loss just absolutely devastating -- 240,000 jobs lost during the month. That is a big number. Over the past three months we've lost more than 650,000 jobs. And year to date, 1.2 million. The numbers just keep on growing -- Tony.

HARRIS: So, Allan, where are we losing these jobs in this economy? What sectors?

CHERNOFF: Well, Tony, we almost always lose some jobs in manufacturing. That continued.

Keep in mind, the economy has been shifting from manufacturing to services. But we also lost lots of jobs within the service industry. That's especially worrisome.

Retail, that includes auto dealerships -- laid off 20,000 people last month. Professional services, that includes employment companies, employment services. And leisure, that also includes hotels. People are not traveling as much. The hotels are laying off.

HARRIS: Anyone hiring at all in this report, Allan?

CHERNOFF: Yes. Thank goodness, there are a few industries that are not so dependent upon the economy.

Health services, still some employment rising over there. Education, during a recession people go back to school. So schools need to be well stocked with good teachers. And government, well, still some hiring over there, but obviously not nearly enough to offset the big job losses.

HARRIS: OK, Allan, one more for you. Does the employment report really tell us all the bad news, or is there more out there?

CHERNOFF: Tony, unfortunately there is more out there. First of all, there are lots of people with part-time jobs who would like to have full-time jobs. And the number of discouraged workers -- now, discouraged means people who have stopped looking for jobs because they don't think there are any jobs available -- 484,000 people in October. That is not included in the 6.5 percent unemployment rate. The numbers are worse than the headlines.

HARRIS: Well, let's just get all the bad news in. And then maybe we can start to get to work in earnest here on turning this around.

Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.

CHERNOFF: Thank you.

HARRIS: Ford posting awful third quarter numbers today. And we expect GM to do the same at any moment here.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin at a GM plant in Warren, Michigan.

And Brooke, I know you're going talk about GM in just a moment, but if you could, how bad were those third quarter numbers for Ford?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were abysmal, Tony. We got a look at those just a little while ago. But before I get to Ford, we still have not gotten the General Motors numbers.

These third quarter -- not earnings, they're losses. They're losses in the billions, as expected.

And as Far as Ford goes, we do have one huge number that's come out today. They announced nearly $3 billion pretax operating loss. Car sales have plunged 25 percent. They will cut salaried employment costs by 10 percent, and they'll be cutting about 2,600 hourly jobs.

Now, Tony, all of that coming just one day now after we saw the pictures with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday in Washington. All of the executives from the three big automotive companies here from Michigan, along with UAW president, took a trip to Washington, met with Pelosi, met with other House leaders to plead with them to consider some sort of bailout for the automotive industry. They are asking, in essence, for a second $25 billion loan.

This morning, I did have a chance to speak with a couple of workers as they were trying to get into work right around 6:00 this morning here at GM at this transmission plant. And you know, they were of course concerned about whether or not there would be some sort of buyout, some sort of savior for their own livelihood here in Warren, Michigan. But they're also concerned about their own job security. They're all waiting and watching for this announcement to come down this morning.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, if the big three do go under, Michigan will be in really bad shape. So, all in all, if they need help, I hope the government is there to help them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's supposed to be announcing around 11:00 this morning. So we'll see what happens then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You heard him, this morning. I've got my watch here. I've got 11:07. So, for some reason, those numbers here from GM are delayed.

We have CNN Money on this. We have our own national desk here at CNN. We are waiting, we are watching for those numbers.

But again, just like -- whoa, dreary day, perhaps sort of poetic forecasting for a very gloomy financial forecast here for GM. But, yes, as soon as we get those, Tony, we'll certainly pass them along.

HARRIS: How close are you to the road there?

Brooke, look, what's the real talk here from auto workers? How concerned are they about, you know, the darkening cloud surrounding this industry?

BALDWIN: You know, Tony, we were here a couple weeks ago.

HARRIS: That's right.

BALDWIN: And the stock share was down -- you know, it was the lowest it had been since essentially the end of the Korean War. And they were concerned, of course, at the time.

I think, though, this American automotive industry is in their blood. They're following in their fathers' footsteps, in their grandfathers' footsteps. So they seem to sort of have this faith in the industry. They want to produce these American cars.

And they're just continuing to go to work. They're continuing to pay their mortgages. And they seem to have faith.

Of course, they're worried about this announcement. In fact, I was asking some of these workers who were going in this morning, how will you find out? He said there's some sort of closed circuit television that will be broadcasting this announcement from GM. You can bet they're all watching that right now.

HARRIS: All right, Brooke. I know you're going to join me a little later. We're going to talk to Lauren Thick (ph). She's an automotive industry analyst and expert. And load up your questions. And we'll get back to you in just a couple of minutes.

BALDWIN: Will do.

HARRIS: Brooke Baldwin for us.

All right. Thanks, Brooke.

Of course, all these layoffs are taking a heavy personal toll. I spoke with one family who knows what these auto workers are going through or are about to go through as third quarter numbers come in and job losses in this sector mount.

Garet Hartshorn worked at Ford as a quality control manager for 13 years. He was laid off in 2006 when one of Georgia's plants shut down. Things got so bad he had to go to a food kitchen to get some help. Garet is 59 years old, nearing retirement age, but that's not going to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARET HARTSHORN, LAID OFF FROM FORD IN 2006: It's almost a heartbreak, because we worked so hard to make that plant what it was, which was the most efficient plant in North America. I am an automotive troubleshooter.

HARRIS: That's what you do.

HARTSHORN: That's what I do. That's what I've done for always. Parts won't go on the car if they don't look quite right or they don't fit quite right. And I'll discover as to why and notify the plant that's involved in it. HARRIS: I see.

HARTSHORN: And then they'll fix it and get it back on line.

I have a benefit that was given to me by Ford, but it's catastrophe insurance. I mean, basically I have...

HARRIS: What is it, catastrophic health care?

HARTSHORN: In other words, I have to spend more than $1,100 a year before I get any kind of coverage at all from my benefits.

HARRIS: Whoa. So you leave Ford. Do you leave with some health coverage?

HARTSHORN: They paid me a severance pay. And then I have my 401(k), which, you know...

HARRIS: Still intact, 401(k)?

HARTSHORN: No. I've had to use it.

HARRIS: What do you mean it's not?

HARTSHORN: I've had to use it.

HARRIS: You borrowed from it?

HARTSHORN: I've had to.

HARRIS: With that penalty?

HARTSHORN: Oh yes. What else can I do?

At my age right now, I should be enjoying the fruits of my life. And now I'm having to beat my brains just like I'm starting all over again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Ford gives Garrett $1,000 a month pension, but that is quickly used up by paying the household bills. Garet has used half of his retirement money, as you heard there, already just to make ends meet.

More than a million jobs simply disappear. They're gone, this year alone. Now you get a pink slip.

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here now.

And Gerri, good to see you again.

How does a sideline worker get a new job in this brutal economy?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: It's a brutal economy. Let's look for solutions here. HARRIS: Great.

WILLIS: You've got to look at the industries that are actually growing. First thing about the industry you're in. Is that an industry that's really going to grow? Is it really what you want to do, especially if that industry is suffering?

You might be better off seeing if your skill set could be useful elsewhere. Remember, a lot of job skills are transferable.

If you're an auditor, those skills would be transferable to another industry, maybe the health care industry, which is growing. Consider a job in one of the hot industries that's growing right now, like health care. It will generate three million new jobs between 2006 and 2016.

We saw the numbers today. The general jobs contracting by 1.2 million. Here is an industry that's growing.

Oil and gas, there's lots of demand for people in oil and gas because a lot of boomers retiring. Same thing in utilities. Education, lots of demand there, too.

There are also some hot jobs you might want to consider. For many of these jobs, well, you're going to need special training.

HARRIS: That's right.

WILLIS: But you may be able to get started with just a few community college courses. Work your way up from there.

Take a look at this list. Engineers, salespeople -- there's big demand for salespeople that can actually close deals. Teachers, there are going to be nearly 500,000 new jobs for teachers between 2006 and 2016.

Nurses, another big category, adding 587,000 jobs. Computer specialist, there's lots of demand for that. Auditors, accountants.

We're going to see these categories -- according to Mercer -- those are the folks that I talked to -- these areas are going to grow. There's going to be more demand for these jobs.

Now, it's true that we're seeing some jobs lost at the end of the year. In fact, a number of jobs lost. But that doesn't mean that some employers won't be hiring next year and over the next few years. You've just got to determine where those areas are and go after those jobs.

HARRIS: And as quickly as you can, you've got to get over the emotions of losing your job. You can't wallow in this, you can't be disappointed.

WILLIS: No.

HARRIS: You've got to get -- and you know what? It sounds to me as though the work of finding your next full-time job can actually become a full-time job in and of itself.

WILLIS: Absolutely. And it should. The more resumes and letters you send out, the more phone calls you make, the more meetings you have, the more likely you are to get a job.

Make sure you're making quality contacts though. Make looking for a new job your full-time job.

Take advantage of social networking sites. I'm talking Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn. Those are great way to reconnect with old friends and colleagues who might be able to help you out.

And here's something special. Tony, listen to this.

HARRIS: OK.

WILLIS: Don't spin your wheels on those job search Web sites. It's hard to make a personal connection through the Web sites. They get hundreds, thousands of resumes.

HARRIS: But you're talking about the Monsters of the world and those kind of companies?

WILLIS: There's so many resumes that go to these sorts of Web sites...

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: ... that it's really hard to stand out. You want to know who is hiring. Use those Web sites to find out who is hiring, and then find a personal way to make a connection to people at those companies.

HARRIS: And that resume, it seems to me, it absolutely has to sing. It has to sparkle here.

WILLIS: Yes, right. Well, you know, that's the first impression employers get of you is your resume.

So don't make the mistake that so many people do. They simply write a laundry list of their previous jobs. Instead, use specifics about what you did in those previous jobs and the results you got.

Don't just say I sold widgets to customers. Say I increased widget sales by 93 percent in my first year.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

WILLIS: If you did. And tell about specific projects you worked on or innovations you created for your previous company. Use specific -- tell potential employers more about you. Make yourself stand out. You really want to make sure they understand what you've accomplished.

HARRIS: Boy. OK. So, Gerri, will you come on back in a couple minutes here and let's work on this some more for folks? Can we do that? WILLIS: We're going to have more answers, more solutions.

HARRIS: Great. Problem solving.

All right, Gerri. Good to see you. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: Making the Web work for you when you're looking for a job. What you need to know to improve your odds. Veronica De La Cruz has been online looking for helpful tips. She will join us in about 30 minutes.

The president-elect is meeting with economic advisers today. The good news, the bad news, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The economy was issue #1 one with voters. And it's item number one on Barack Obama's agenda. In a one-on-one interview exactly a week ago, CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Obama to prioritize a list of five issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Health care reform?

OBAMA: Right.

BLITZER: Energy independence. A new tax code, including tax cuts for the middle class. Education spending or comprehensive immigration reform.

Top priorities.

OBAMA: Well, top priorities may not be any of those five. It may be continuing to stabilize the financial system.

We don't know yet what's going to happen in January. And none of this can be accomplished if we continue to see a potential meltdown in the banking system or the financial system. So that's priority number one, making sure that the plumbing works in our capitalist system.

Priority number two of the list that you have put forward I think has to be energy independence. We have to seize this moment because it's not just an energy independence issue. It's also a national security issue and it's a jobs issue. And we can create five million new green energy jobs with a serious program.

Priority number three would be health care reform. I think the time is right to do it.

Priority number four is making sure that we have tax cuts for the middle class and part of a broader tax reform effort.

Priority number five I think would be making sure that we have an education system that works for all children.

One thing I want to make a point of, though. The tax cut that I talked about may be part of my priority number one because I think that's going to be part of stabilizing the economy as a whole.

I think we are going to need a second stimulus. One of my commitments is to make sure that that stimulus includes a tax cut for 95 percent of working Americans. That may be the first bill that I introduce.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Barack Obama huddling with his team of experts on the economy this morning. The urgency of the issue reflected in today's dismal jobs report.

Suzanne Malveaux live now from Chicago with more on the meeting.

Suzanne, new numbers this morning. Stunning the way this economy is shedding jobs. Any word now on who will make up the president- elect's economic team?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There's no official word on who is actually going to become the treasury secretary. But, Tony, there is a group of about 17 economic advisers in this transition period that have been talking to Barack Obama since the financial crisis erupted here about four weeks ago.

A couple of names potentially on the short list, former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker. He's one of those advisers on his committee.

Another one, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. He is somebody who Barack Obama has been in constant contact with.

Another person they talk about is Timothy Geithner. He's the president of the Federal Reserve Bank out of New York. And he has been really a critical figure when it comes to dealing with the whole bailout plan since September.

So these are folks that he talks to on a regular basis. They're people that he's sitting down with this afternoon to kind of figure out what all this means, the job numbers. But some things that we do anticipate that he'll say in this press conference is he'll talk about those tax cuts that he's pledged for 95 percent of Americans and he'll talk about creating jobs, these kind of green jobs.

He'll talk about these long-term projects when it comes to building highways and bridges and things like that. And obviously he's also going to talk about this additional economic stimulus package in the tune of billions of dollars that he's trying to push through Congress in the next couple weeks. Perhaps that is one thing that he can do before he actually takes office -- Tony.

HARRIS: So this is an important news conference from Barack Obama this afternoon. Suzanne Malveaux for us in Chicago.

Suzanne, great to see you. Thank you.

And check out our Political Ticker for all the latest campaign news, transition news. Just log on to CNNPolitics.com, your source for all things political.

Are you keeping a close eye on your child's personal information? Well, you'd better be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Children vulnerable to identity theft. An alert sent to parents in Arizona. A storage facility in Phoenix was broken into. Missing is a computer hard drive with the personal information of about 40,000 children, everything an identity thief would need.

Here is some advice for parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD DAVIS, CEO, LIFECLOCK: ... contacting the Social Security Administration and asking for a work history for their child. You want the answer to be one does not exist. That's the right answer. But you want to regularly ask, at least once a year, make that request so that if something has happened, you detect it early.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Although they've issued the warning to parents, officials think the thieves may not know what they really have.

You've done the voting for president, but you can still vote for the CNN Hero of the Year. More than half a million of you have already told us which CNN hero inspired you the most. For those who haven't voted yet, be sure to go to CNN.com/heroes to make your choice.

And while voters continue to vote, we've asked some very familiar faces to introduce us to their heroes. Today we hear from jazz great Wynton Marsalis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTON MARSALIS, MUSICIAN: The most essential thing for the development of kids are those things that they do that's not school- related. Talent show at a young age. You can do whatever you put your mind to.

I'm Wynton Marsalis, and my hero uses jazz music to inspire the minds and souls of young folks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back in the '80s, one of my visual arts students was killed due to his involvement with drug trafficking. To have an element on the street take a student that was so bright and so promising was a trigger for me to open up a music program to take young people and nurture them on their time.

I really wanted to be able to see the students develop. We have a mentoring system of professional artists. Sometimes I wonder, am I really getting through? But when I see that light go on in the students' face, that says I can wake up tomorrow and do it again.

MARSALILS: He is the next step of heroic action. He sacrifices, but he actually is fulfilling himself. The students admire him and look up to him, and they love him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And still to come in the CNN NEWSROOM, the American car industry in major trouble. Huge losses, layoffs. Will a bailout help?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, the stats are brutal. The number of people out a job soared last month. The Labor Department said another 240,000 Americans joined the unemployment lines. In the October, 651,000 in the last three months, over a million for all of 2008 so far. Experts expect monthly job losses will continue through much of 2009. Since posting - man those are some big numbers - since posting the biggest election day rally in 24 years, the Dow Jones industrial average has suffered its worst two-day decline since October of 1987.

As focus on Wall Street has shifted back to the struggling U.S. economy and the dismal job market, but stocks, go figure, are rallying. Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with the latest.

Explain this rally, although we are off of session highs, I can see here, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are off session highs. A lot of that has to do with General Motors, which is trading once again. It was halted, Tony, because we're getting earnings numbers out about them. We'll talk about that in a second.

Because the big news of the day, no doubt, is the jobs report. So far the lead-up to the much-anticipated report was much worse than the actual fallout. Let's go ahead and check the numbers on the board so you can see where we stand right now. The Dow on the upside by 100 points, 879. Nasdaq better by 19 at 1628. The Dow was up more than 200 points not too long ago. So, we have a nice rally despite a dismal employment report.

The economy lost 240,000 jobs last month. That is a terrible number. The unemployment rate was also up to 6.5 percent. That's the highest it's been since 1994, and also worse than expected. Now that means we have, like you were saying, a total number of job losses in 2008 of almost 1.2 million, more than half of those came in the last three months. So, it was just a rough period.

To put those numbers into perspective for you, Tony, my industrious producers did some digging around and found that 1.2 million is the population of Dallas, Texas. So, imagine everyone in the Big D, if they all lost their jobs. That's what we have nationwide.

HARRIS: That's what we have nationwide right now?

ELAM: Yes.

HARRIS: That's stunning. So here is the question then, when can we expect -- I don't know -- to see these job numbers to start to turn around, Stephanie?

ELAM: We're not done with them yet. We're in know that because we're in November and we've already seen more companies saying they're going to lay off more people. We're likely to see losses continue to mount as we head into 2009. Last month a variety of companies across the economic spectrum announced job cuts including Merck, we had Goldman Sachs. All of that factoring in there. So that's part of the reason we know we'll have more out there about this.

Then the big one today, Ford, they promised to reduce salaried worker expenses by 10 percent. That means more than 2,500 workers could be led go. Ford announced the cuts alongside a $3 billion quarterly loss. Some analysts believe today's job numbers could prompt the Fed to cut rates again and bring them to lows not seen since the 1950s. I do have to point out, though, since we did come off our highs from earlier in the session, Tony, part of the reason we're coming down now is because of GM and their earnings. The company said it lost $2.5 billion last quarter. It says it estimates it has just enough money to operate its business for the rest of the year. Taking a look at GM right now, it has continued to slide since they reopened here off 13 percent, right now, is where GM is.

HARRIS: Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait.

ELAM: So it is really feeling the pinch.

HARRIS: Hang on a second. What's that number again? What is GM saying in response to that in terms of cash on hand it has to operate here?

ELAM: This is really huge. GM is saying that they lost $2.5 billion last quarter and that they have just enough money to operate their businesses for the rest of the year. So dire straits for sure in GM. It just goes to show you why the big three automakers are in Washington trying to talk to Nancy Pelosi trying to see if they can get anymore help because they're in dire straits.

HARRIS: OK. All right. We need more on this. Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you.

The economy obviously on a collision course with the car industry, particularly telling today. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler fighting to survive. Auto expert Lauren Fix is joining me now from Las Vegas.

Lauren, we're going to talk here in just a moment, but I want to bring in Brooke Baldwin. She is at a GM plant in Warren, Michigan.

If you would, Brooke, go through these numbers. This reporting on third quarter -- we would like to say earnings. We know that's not the case. But take it away and share with us your reporting.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll call them third quarter losses, Tony. These numbers just crossing the CNN desk. I think I just heard Stephanie Elam sort of give you a little sneak peek here. The net loss in the third quarter, Tony, $2.5 billion. We are being told that number is worse than expected. Apparently in the third quarter GM burned through $7 billion in cash. Apparently GM is taking, quote/unquote, "steps to reduce employment costs". They're not explaining what that exactly means. They're taking steps to reduce the costs. But they still need help from the federal government. So those are just the latest numbers we have now from GM, officially, from me to you.

HARRIS: All right. Brooke, if you would, stand by. I know you have some questions for Lauren. Let's bring in Lauren Fix.

And Lauren, will you put some perspective on these numbers here? The GM numbers first. If you would, dovetail into the Ford numbers? What does this mean that we only have enough money here at GM to operate through the end of the year? That sounds pretty dire.

LAUREN FIX, AUTO INDUSTRY EXPERT: It does sound pretty dire. What's interesting is if you look at the world as a whole, sales have been well taken care of for GM and Ford in Europe, but here in the States we have just been suffering horribly. Unfortunately when people have job layoffs, and Ford is talking about 2,300 people laid off. That's a lot of people without jobs that aren't buying cars. It affects the economy as a whole. The economy is not doing great.

I mean what GM and Ford are going to have to do is they're going to have to get a loan of some form. I know yesterday, at a closed door meeting, the three major automakers have met with Pelosi and Reid, and they're asking for a $25 billion low-interest bridge loan. We don't know anything more than that.

HARRIS: Wait, wait, wait. All right. Let me break this out a little bit. Funds have been provided. Where did those funds, there was another $25 million -- an initial $25 billion. Where did that come from? Was that the Energy Department?

FIX: That was through an energy bill that passed in September.

HARRIS: An energy bill.

FIX: That was divided amongst the three automakers. I don't think they've received those loans yet.

HARRIS: OK.

FIX: So, when the cash hasn't come in, even though they're promised these loans, these people are operating at a loss, and a huge loss. Not talking like a few thousand dollars. Right now we're talking about $3 billion operating loss. That's really serious. And if they don't get these loans or find ways to sell off portions of their company, or cut expenses, it's going to be pretty serious. We're looking at right now over 2,000 dealers across the U.S. that potentially could go out of business. We've already lost some of our biggest dealers. It's really going to affect everybody and not just -- .

HARRIS: Wait a minute. I'm the president-elect and is it time for me to call a meeting of the CEOs of the Big Three automakers and sit across the table from them and, Lauren Fix, I'm putting you in that meet. And I ask, as president-elect, what do we need to do to stop these job losses? Are you coming back to me as the auto execs and saying, we need cash, we need it now because our cash burn is killing us right now?

FIX: Right. But it has to be both sides. We have to say, we need a bridge loan to get this sorted out. And they're looking at $25 billion. This is Mullaly, Nardelli. These are big players. And on the other side, what they need to do is cut their capital expenses. I have to admit, as a journalist, and I'll probably get yelled at for this, we go to these pretty lavish events because they want us to be talking nicely about their vehicles.

But on the another hand there's a lot of middle management that will need to be cut, a lot of operating cost, a lot of advertising. That affects, again, not just the auto manufacturers but all those little companies that supply. Because one job affects nine other jobs out there, from marketing, event services, advertising companies. Think about all the people that are affected. So this really is affecting our economy in a very negative way. We have to come up with a solution. And I may not be the wisest economist.

HARRIS: Yeah, you are. Don't even go down that road. Let's bring in Brooke Baldwin again. Because, Brooke, I know you have a couple of questions for Lauren.

BALDWIN: My question, I think you touched on it, Lauren, a little bit. We talked about that first $25 billion loan package that the president has already passed. That, from what I understand, is supposed to be exclusively for these factories to produce these high fuel-efficient vehicles. When they were in Washington, just yesterday, they were pleading with Congress and Pelosi for the second $25 billion loan, which perhaps would help bolster liquidity and free up some of the cash to pay for maybe some of these health packages, the pension packages.

One question I got from workers, early this morning when they were getting in at their 6 o'clock shift change, is those who still work here, what about their current health care, health insurance situation? Will the company continue to match the 401(k)? I know there's some college tuition reimbursement programs. What about for the current workers. If these losses continue to tank, what about the folks who are in this plant today?

FIX: That's a good question because we don't know. I know there are union agreements, and I'm sure they're going to be sitting down and trying to figure it out. Because the union doesn't want the manufacturer to go out of business, because there are jobs that are being affected, so there here may have to be some negotiations on both sides, where the union may have to give up some things. Maybe it's the 401(k) matching plan. Maybe it's some other benefits.

In exchange they'll have to do something on the automotive end. There's going to have to be some pairing down some of these huge expenditures that are out there. When you look at the automotive after market, this is what I'm doing in Vegas, we're coming up with ways to try to help consumers. They need to move quicker. That's the problem. The automotive industry just moves so slow, like molasses in January.

HARRIS: Wow. All right. Brooke, let me fire one more and then if we have time we'll get back to you for one more question.

So, Lauren, look, I'm a 40-year-old auto worker here. And I'm working the line here and I'm hearing about all these cuts. What is my mind set today? Should I retrain? Think about becoming a nurse or something?

FIX: Well, you know, honestly, if it were me, I would want my job to continue and do what I can. But when you're on the line, you don't have much say in what the corporation is doing. If it were me, I would probably look at some other angles. Always have a backup plan. As I was always told as a kid, try to have multiple income streams. I believe there's a book called "Who Moved The Cheese?"

HARRIS: Yes.

FIX: The cheese has moved. We have to move with it. If that means making more fuel efficient vehicles, if that means that you have to start retraining yourself. I mean, I have to do that every day, just like you have to. We have to be on our toes. Unfortunately, we tend to be a very comfortable society. We'll have to look at other avenues. There are going to be a lot of people on unemployment, they are going to have to look for a lot of other opportunities.

HARRIS: Wow. Lauren Fix, that was awesome. Boy, a tough, tough story to cover in your sector right now. But you do a great job of it. All right, Lauren, appreciate it. Thank you.

FIX: Thank you.

HARRIS: Brooke, thank you as well. We'll get back to you at the top of the hour.

As we have already mentioned, more than a million jobs gone this year. That's your mom, dad, friends, your neighbors. If you are still working, you need to hold on to that job. That's for sure. That's where CNN's Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis, can help.

Gerri, good to see you again. Thanks for sticking around for us.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi there, Tony.

HARRIS: You repeat this a lot; you say the first thing people should do is get close to the boss, huh?

WILLIS: You got to be close -- listen, bosses, Tony, all over the country right now. They're deciding who is going to stay and who is going to go. They're making their short list of where they want to cut ranks. You've got to make sure that boss knows your value to the organization. If you contributed to the bottom line, maybe you landed a valuable client this year. Make sure that info got through the middle manager ranks, because sometimes people claim that they've done what you were supposed to do, right? You've got to make sure the boss knows what you did.

Establish a niche that is your own. Make yourself indispensable. And make sure you're known for it. Raise your profile. Find ways to help your company save money. All managers are trying to cut costs right now. If you can show them how to do it, you become valuable. If the higher-ups know you're responsible for the business's latest and greatest idea, they won't want to see you let go.

Take on additional projects. And especially those across ones that are across departments so everybody in the company knows who you are. Make sure you are going above and beyond. Now is the time to do it, Tony.

HARRIS: You also say people should look into taking classes, additional training.

WILLIS: Oh, yes, right. Look, if your company offers training classes, take them. Learn a new software system. Get up to date on innovations in your industry. Think about taking a class at a local college. You can do it online now. It's inexpensive. And you can do it in your spare time. Maybe you can take a foreign language class, a business class. The more up-to-date your skills are, the harder it will be for them to let you go. Also, join a trade organization so you can network with people who do what you do. Find out what else is out there. You don't want to just network inside your company. You've got to do it outside.

HARRIS: Awesome. Great advice, as always. Solutions, Gerri, as we try to bridge these troubled waters. Gerri Willis will be joining us at the top of the hour as the most serious credit crisis in decades rocks your finances, CNNMoney.com has some advice, some answers for you. Check out our special report, there it is, "America's Money Crisis" at CNNMoney.com.

Hurricanes and Blizzards! Yeah. It is a busy day in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We will check in with Reynolds Wolf. That's next.

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HARRIS: Why don't we get to Reynolds Wolf in the Severe Weather Center.

Reynolds, as we do, take a look at these pictures here. This is in South Dakota right now. I guess in South Dakota it doesn't qualify as a blizzard, but it sure feels like a blizzard to me. Maybe it's not a blizzard in, I don't know, in Buffalo or something.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know what that is, Tony?

HARRIS: What is that?

WOLF: I'll tell you exactly, my friend, that is justification as to why we live in the Southeastern United States.

(LAUGHTER)

WOLF: That's it plain and simple. No offense to our friends in South Dakota.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: How about this? Only if you live in the Southeast do you look at three feet of snow and say wow, it's really tough. Man, that is a real blizzard out there, isn't it?

WOLF: I know. Then you have to pick up the shovel and you have to clean it all up.

HARRIS: That's just sad.

Good to see you, sir.

WOLF: Back at you, man. South Dakota is a beautiful place.

HARRIS: Yes, sir.

WOLF: Especially this time of year.

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HARRIS: A girl kicked off the school bus for - changing seats. Are you kidding?

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HARRIS: Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York, spared. Federal prosecutors say they will not bring criminal charges against Spitzer. Spitzer resigned, you may recall, in March after his connection to a high-priced prostitution ring hit the headlines. Prosecutors say they found now evidence he used taxpayer or campaign money to pay for call girls.

Four U.S. Marines facing charges of murdering one of their own in California. The four are accused of forcing their way into the home of a Marine sergeant, tying him and his wife up. Gagging them and then shooting both in the head. Investigators said the house southeast of Los Angeles had been ransacked, jewelry and other items stolen. They say the woman was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Day two of deliberations in the Brian Nichols trial; he faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2005 shooting spree at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta. Nichols killed a judge, a court reporter, a deputy and an off-duty federal agent. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity.

Here is something to get your blood boiling today. A nine-year- old Massachusetts girl says she was kicked off her school bus because -- because -- she changed seats. Fourth grader Cyrena Medbury told to get off the bus on a busy highway, a long way from home. Another parent saw the girl and gave her a ride home. The bus driver, well, he is not driving a bus anymore. Mom and daughter talked about Wednesday's incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA DOYLE, MOTHER OF CHILD KICKED OFF BUS: Total shock, panic. All the thoughts that were running through my head were, what could have happened.

CYRENA MEDBURY, KICK OFF BUS: I felt really sad that that happened, because I have really good family that loves me a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Yeah, you bet. The school superintendent says the driver had, quoting here, "a terrible lapse in judgment." No kidding.

All right. The economy is weak, the jobless rate pretty bleak. I talked to one small businessman about his company profits and the future.

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