Auto industry failed to address challenges: Obama

Poised to preside over a crumbling US economy, President-elect Barack Obama today lashed out at America's struggling auto industry for its failure to move quickly on his advice to adopt a new business approach and technology to stay competitive.

"I raised concerns about the health of our auto industry a year-and-a-half ago when I spoke to industry leaders in Detroit. I urged them to act quickly to adopt new technologies and a new business approach that would help them stay competitive in these changing times," Obama said at a press conference here.

While blaming the American auto giants for the failure to move quickly to address the challenges, Obama said the nation cannot "simply stand and watch" the industry collapse.

"And while they've failed to move quickly enough towards these goals, at this moment of great challenge for our economy, we cannot simply stand by and watch this industry collapse. Doing so would lead to a devastating ripple effect throughout our economy," he said.

Concerned by "more unsettling news" about the US economy, Obama noted that jobless claims were "now the highest they've been in 26 years, with more than 570,000 people filing for unemployment benefits for the -- for the very first time."

Obama said he believed that the US government should provide short-term assistance to the auto industry to avoid a collapse while holding the companies accountable and protecting taxpayer interests.