The midyear in autos: 10 ups and downs

Upside: In a long-overdue restructuring of a bloated manufacturing base, European automakers scramble to cut capacity in the face of the worst sales drought in 18 years. PSA Peugeot-Citroen announces a drastic cost-cutting plan to slash 8,000 jobs in France and close a major factory north of Paris.

Downside: Politicians protest. France's new president, François Hollande, who ran on a platform to re-industrialize the country, denounces the plan as unacceptable and demands it be renegotiated. Analysts expect continued conflicts to slow needed restructuring.

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