In what can be considered yet another sign that the economic crisis, and the crisis in the financial markets specifically, isn’t just going to hurt “Wall Street CEO’s,” General Motors has announced it will lay off approximately 1,600 employees, working at three (different) factories.

GM has serious problems, and has had them for years, decades even. The current economic crisis is not the sole cause for them to fire these 1,600 workers, but it has most certainly contributed to it.

GM’s pickup truck plant in Pontiac will wave goodbye to 700 workers. 500 working at the Detroit-Hamtramck sedan factory will also have to go, and, finally, 400 workers at a two-seat sports car assembly plant in Wilmington, Del., the Associated Press reported, will have to find another job starting December 1.

America’s automobile industry has been one of the weakest for decades. The U.S. government has bailed several auto companies out since the 70s, but the companies continue to experience tremendous problems. As such, it is quite fair to wonder when the U.S. government will stop supporting a, by all means, dying industry.

Artificially keeping an industry alive may sound good in the short term, but it will cost the tax payers a terrible lot of money in the long run.