ANDREA SEABROOK, host: The guys who run the big three automakers have been putting in lots of miles traveling to Washington lately. Those journeys finally paid off yesterday. President Bush unveiled a $17 billion package to help General Motors and Chrysler stay afloat into the new year. Today, more good news for them. Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, pitched in more than $3 billion in emergency loans to keep GM and Chrysler plants in business north of the border. On this side of it, we've heard a lot about the millions of Americans who could be left unemployed if the Big Three were to collapse.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, host: But we are not alone. Six hundred thousand Canadians stand to lose their jobs, too. That estimate from the provincial government of Ontario. Workers at GM and Chrysler plants in the U.S. headed off for an extended holiday break yesterday without pay. The companies are saving money by keeping their plants closed for a full month, two weeks longer than planned. Outside Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, the last shift clocked out at 2 p.m. Robert Bush(ph) installs splash shields on Jeep Cherokees at the plant. And as he trudged through the snow to his car, he expressed measured relief at the deal.</s>Mr. ROBERT BUSH (Chrysler Worker): Yeah, I was nervous. A lot of people that I came in with, they took the early - they took a buyout. And I wasn't ready to take one yet, so. But I'm like - I'm excited. I think, you know, with the loan, I think everything is going to work out fine. I'm being positive for the new year.</s>ANDREA SEABROOK, host: Chrysler worker Robert Bush getting a holiday lift with the rest of the auto industry.
Canada will join the U.S. in loaning billions of dollars to struggling automakers General Motors and Chrysler. But a worker at one Chrysler plant in Detroit remains optimistic, even as his plant shuts down for a month.