“We may be safer and in a better position because we make transmissions, but one way or another, we will feel the impact," Boruff said. "Some time or another, we will feel it. We may be downsized, you never know. ...

“It’s bad all the way around," he said. "Only thing we can do is to stay as positive as we can, but it is bad right now.”

Until last week, Chrysler was negotiating with unions toward a long-term plan it owed the Obama administration. Union members agreed to multiple concessions including wage freezes through 2011, removing limits on how many workers are hired at less than $15 an hour and shrinking the company's obligation to the UAQ's retiree health care fund.

Ozina Archer works at a convenience store down the street from Local 685. The store saw extra traffic after Chrysler workers met to vote on the concessions package Wednesday.

While most customers come from the nearby neighborhood, Archer said losing Chrysler employees “hurts all businesses in Kokomo.”

Local government also shares the pain. The automaker owes $8.3 million in local property taxes, though county officials say they are optimistic it will pay.

Indiana University Law School professor Dennis Long doesn’t expect Chrysler to quickly rise from bankruptcy. The case will have good and bad, he said, depending upon your perspective.