Deere announces layoffs

[RoyJackson]

<font color=red>"Every casting had "Japan" cast into it. "</font color=red>

Yeah, Harley buys a lot of their components!
However, they're doubling the size of their plant in York, PA (was talk for years that they were going to close it). I expect more components to be manufactured there. I'd like to get in there...would hate to work union though, but there'd be no option.
But as far as components..I interviewed at one company a few months back that made valves (as in "intake" and "exhaust"). This was in central PA. They made for the usual US companies (mostly small engine manufacturers). However, they also made them for Honda (which didn't surprise me) and Kawasaki (which did..I don't believe Kawasaki has any facilities in the US or Canada.

<font color=red>"They have a loyal customer base"</font color=red>

Very true!!! That "outlaw" image is really popular, not only in this country, but in Europe and Japan as well. That's an image thing...just as BMW was in the '80's. If the "image" goes out of style...well, that'd probably be the end of Harley.

You know, I know I've been putting unions down quite a bit. Their original purpose was good and just. There just seems to be no incentive for the union worker to be productive. However, the recent Enron scandal does exemplify the greed of upper management. When the CEO and his henchmen walk off with tens of millions while the troops (and stockholders) lose darn near everything...that is criminal. If I were the HMIC, I'd behead everyone of those guys and put their heads on pikes (as an example to other greedy a__holes).

 

[livincountry]

I work in the custom mold manufacturing business. Our sales dropped in half comparing the year 2000 to the year 2001. We've made major adjustments and will survive (we hope). Like many products, our prices are driven by labor rates and countries like China are eating away at the core of this country. They have access to the same machinery we have but their labor rate is a small fraction of ours. Then take into account the government subsidies compared to our system of the government regulating & taxing us to death. With all this being said we in the USA have a different mentality than other countries and we will survive. Japan is going on ten years of recession. China is a third world country and is competing based on shear the shear volume of their workforce. They are not more efficient or more determined. I agree that Walmart & similar retailers have done more to hurt this country than China or all the rest. They no longer say they support US suppliers like they used to. Now the little sword wielding bandit in the Walmart commercial cuts US jobs as he slashes prices. Couple that with CEO's wanting obscene bonuses and here we are today! We'll survive because we have a certain spark found no where else and it confounds other countries.

 

[rdln]

Love your comments Roy, but you forgot an F (HMFIC).

I drive my wife crazy when we go clothes shopping. It is getting tougher to find USA made clothes, the last suit I bought was from JCPenneys after shopping 4 other stores. And that attitude is applied to just about anything else I buy.

I would love to buy my wife a Chevy Suburban but cant ignore the fact that they are assembled in mexico.

It is all about profit. If that suburban was assembled in the US it would not be priced any higher.

I bought my farm in 92 and when I realized I needed and wanted a tractor I considered a Ford 8n but convinced myself I wanted a 4wd diesel and the only choice under 40hp was japanese.
BTW of all the things on that tractor I found a selonoid made right here in Michigan.

 

[Steelfan]

Roy, I'm not sure why this post caused such a discussion. It very plain, and simple. American Workers are losing jobs to another country. When a community like the one mentioned by CowboyDoc does their part by telling that company what they think of these jobs lost, I support them. We can argue till we are blue in the face about buying stuff from another country, but we all do it. I just wouldn't want to be one of those people , that lost their jobs. How many of you want your job to just go away, and end up in Mexico? Bottom line I don't, and I can't believe any of you do either. That's my $.02. Kent

 

[MrP]

<font color=blue>It is all about profit. If that suburban was assembled in the US it would not be priced any higher.</font color=blue>

How can you say that? With Union Labor Rates 10x that of Mexican labor. The SUV would probably cost about 10% more.

 

[MReeter]

There seems to be a little more incentive for Companies to take their business South.

Much lower Corp. taxes,cheaper utilities,no Inviromental laws,just dump the toxic by- products in the nearest ditch or canal.

Thanks to NAFTA,very little import tax,and yes,cheap labor.People forced to work 12-16 hour days,6-7 days a week,of all ages.

Looks to me like a perfect business climate for the Big Corps. to have a great bottom line...Yes,it is all about profit.As said before,if this keeps up,who is going to buy their products?

The average working class is the one who pays the bulk of the taxes and spends hard earned money on commodities such as a new Tractor or new vehicle.Maybe even go as far as buying or building a home.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Morning Kent, my wife wants to know if your wife likes her new greenhouse. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

<font color=blue>It very plain, and simple. American Workers are losing jobs to another country.</font color=blue>

I can't really see it like that. What I see is an industry is being antiquated plain and simple. Bottom line there is little difference between jobs lost to automation than to foreign factorys. You wouldn't insist that we subsidize an inefficient industry unless you were bottom surfing for votes would you?

It is harder when you know the person being let go because the company has decided amputation is better than suicide. I have a future son in law that works for Worldcom. I might have an apprentice whether I want one or not.

Now it would be better for the local economy to keep Worldcom up and at it like it was before. But I don't see it happening. And it wouldn't be right. Sorta like keeping open a military base because it's the only source of work for an area.

I don't like plastic fence. I think it's garish and it will fail just a little later than wood. At least wood develops character over time. You can't say that for plastic.

But if I had a conventional fence company I would be investing in equipment to handle plastic fencing or be facing losing business in the future. Maybe even losing my business entirely because I haven't kept up with trends and modernization of society and their preferences.

Would it be right for the locals to pick up the load of carrying me just cause I insisted upon staying just the way I want to instead of doing what I should?

 

[livincountry]

Looks like Mexico is affected by countries with LOWER wage rates!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14093-2002Jun19.html

 

[Hillbilly]

Agreed!!!!!!!!

 

[ejb]

>>With increases in productivity, the need for semi-skilled employees drops.

It is a race to the bottom imo. Think about the few billion people in CHina who would be more than happy to work for a few dollars a day. With the race towards globalisation, these billion people are the employee's of the future that american workers are going to have to compete with.

Even if one manufactuurer takes and stand and keeps all his high paying jobs here, it unlikley all his/her competitors will and when the competitors are then able to undercut you on price, very very few loyal customers will continue to "buy american" when it hits them in the pocketbook directly.

On a smaller, more local scale, (but a perfect analogy) look at the very many people on this very forum who will drive from dealer to dealer to dealer (and shop internet dealers) to pinch every nickel of profit out of the dealer they ultimately purchase from. Even if it means less money/profit/jobs to the dealer in their own local neighborhood. If one can't see anything wrong with that practice, one can't legitamately criticize big companies from basically doing the same thing on a larger scale.

All one (collectively) needs to do is look in the mirror to see where the problem lies.