Indeed, other domestic auto suppliers have sold off pieces of themselves in attempts to remain afloat.

Checker was the eighth largest American auto supplier to go bankrupt in recent years.

Mitsubishi's network of auto suppliers, who know a sure bet when they see one, are setting up joint ventures with local companies.

But Ms. Parolini said that other auto suppliers were more worried.

Some analysts are estimating that the number of big auto suppliers will decline to 2,000 from 5,000 in the next five years.

Inevitably, these cutbacks will cause auto suppliers, who now account for much of the industry, to idle employees at their own plants.

One of the first important auto suppliers to move to the state was Michelin, a French company, in the 1970's.

And much of the cost will be dumped onto auto suppliers, whose profit margins are narrowing.

Ms. Ligocki isn't the first woman to run an auto supplier.

To increase their chances of infiltrating Detroit, they are forming alliances with traditional auto suppliers.