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After earning the nickname "The Arsenal of Democracy" during WWII, Detroit’s auto plants experienced production disruptions during postwar reconversion to civilian production. This meant significant layoffs, especially for women autoworkers. Shortages of crucial materials, often caused by steel strikes and coal strikes, made auto employment sporadic. Authorized strikes in the auto industry, including the 1946 GM strike called by Walter Reuther, and unauthorized "wildcat" strikes, all contributed to ongoing instability. Cold weather, hot weather, and federal credit regulations played roles as well. As a result, autoworkers experienced persistent layoffs even though auto companies managed to earn profits during the early postwar years. By late 1948, no one in the industry thought that the postwar boom had arrived.

During the Korean War, autoworkers experienced persistent layoffs while inflation increased the cost of living. Government allocations of raw materials did not favor the auto industry, and most military contracts did not to go to Detroit factories. Despite dire warnings from industrialists, union leaders, and civic officials, tens of thousands of people, motivated by memories of Detroit as the Arsenal of Democracy during WWII, migrated to the city. At one point in 1952, 10 percent of all unemployment in the nation was in metro-Detroit. Then the 1952 steel strike eliminated auto production. In the background, automation continued to eliminate jobs. Nevertheless, the auto industry revived in late 1952 and there was suddenly a labor shortage.

Despite the official end of the 1958 recession, massive unemployment persisted for Detroit's autoworkers amidst huge disruptions in production. Safety nets had long since frayed. Most autoworkers exhausted their unemployment benefits and few alternate employment options existed. Unemployed Detroiters lined up wherever there were job openings, no matter the type of work. Ford and GM, however, earned healthy profits, despite shutdowns caused by a national steel strike. The only bright spot in the industry, nationwide, was the trend toward fuel-efficient, compact cars. In mid-1960 the U.S. Department of Labor declared Detroit to be in the "worst-off" category among metropolitan areas. By the end of 1960, auto work remained precarious in the Motor City, and the postwar boom remained elusive.