Heres an email I got: This is a video of a new Ford plant in Brazil .. One look at this and you will be able to tell why there will probably never be another One built in the USA . It will also point out why more assembly plants will go offshore. The CEO's are asking for a handout,Congress is asking for a plan Ford has an existing plan but not in the USA, and we should give them more money to build elsewhere ??? Check this film http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189 < And.. pay attention to the last few words. He says ECO-friendly cars will be shipped to other places. It says a lot! And we won't allow a facility like this in the states???? unions???????
I didn't watch the film, although I've got a few things to say: 1) Ford is not asking for any money at this time. GM (who is ****ed), and Chrysler are. GM is almost bankrupt, and Chrysler just wants some free money so their parent company doesn't have to use any cash reserves. 2) Plants like that are not built in the US for one reason and one reason alone. Labor costs. It's not that we "don't allow" plants, or really that the Unions are driving up wages. The simple fact is that the cost of living and required human wages in countries like Brazil, India, etc is only a fraction of the costs they would be in the US. There are a few reasons why American car companies are doing poorly. The largest one is simply consumer market. American auto makers have had their heads in the sand about what the typical US consumer wants and likes for years. Unions certainly contribute to part of the problem, but they are not the cause. UAW costs American auto makers more, since the employee cost per car manufactured is about 35 perceent higher than that of which foreign companies (who also have plants and manufacture in the US) pay their US auto workers ($70/car vs $45/car).
