GM China President says automaker could export vehicles from China to US
4/20/13, 01:39 PM
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GM China President says automaker could export vehicles from China to US
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/20/g...cles-from-chi/
Autoblog asked GM China president Bob Socia (above) if that means the company might eventually export new vehicles built in China to the United States, and he responded:
Autoblog asked GM China president Bob Socia (above) if that means the company might eventually export new vehicles built in China to the United States, and he responded:
"It could very well happen. It could very well happen. You know, I'm not sharing any plans with you, but we try to keep open as to what makes sense. And Tim [Lee – GM's president of international operations] is the right guy to talk about your manufacturing footprint. If it make sense to tool up a vehicle in one location as opposed to two, from an economic perspective, Tim will say that's what we should be doing. We're open to be doing that. There's no reason why we can't be exporting to the States, and obviously the States are exporting here."
4/20/13, 02:08 PM
#4
Nothing really newsworthy in the story at all. I'm sure that they have "comsidered" it before and have worked out the ROI numbers many times.
I'm sure that Ford has considered it as well as every other company that has had the chance. It's a global economy now and as long as they can build it cheaper and add to the bottom line, they will.
I'm sure that Ford has considered it as well as every other company that has had the chance. It's a global economy now and as long as they can build it cheaper and add to the bottom line, they will.
4/20/13, 02:09 PM
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Nothing really newsworthy in the story at all. I'm sure that they have "comsidered" it before and have worked out the ROI numbers many times.
I'm sure that Ford has considered it as well as every other company that has had the chance. It's a global economy now and as long as they can build it cheaper and add to the bottom line, they will.
I'm sure that Ford has considered it as well as every other company that has had the chance. It's a global economy now and as long as they can build it cheaper and add to the bottom line, they will.
4/20/13, 03:28 PM
#6
LOL! We both know that, but let's deal in realities and not fantasy worlds. Large, global corporations look at only one thing and it is NOT doing right by the customers. That is for the smaller, independantly owned companies.
They may consider it "doing right by their customers" to build the product $2,000.00 cheaper in China and sell it at a lower price here in the U.S. to be more competitive against the other imports.
GM already builds cars and trucks in Canada and Mexico, why do you think they could possibly care if they built them in China?
Last edited by Cristoff; 4/20/13 at 03:30 PM.
4/20/13, 04:04 PM
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Good companies use six sigma and quality principles to deliver not only a great product that uses great materials. But also reduce costs and provide that product to the consumer at a lower price.
4/20/13, 04:32 PM
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Something like this would never happen there because there are barely any jobs available and workers try to do the best job possible. I have a relative who works at Fiat's factory in Kragujevac, Serbia where Fiat 500L is being built. He gets paid only ~600 euros per month (or about 5-6 times less than the Italian worker building the same car does), but often he stays late even thou he doesn't receive overtime pay and often has to work weekends (he usually works about 60 hours or so per week and is still paid like he's working 40). He still does the best job possible because he really appreciate that he has a job.
Instead of intentionally building a bad product because they're unhappy of the shift changes ...
Chrysler is reportedly having a hard time ramping up production of its 2013 Ram 1500. According to The Detroit News, only 16 of the 58 trucks built at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant during the model's first hour passed final inspection. While quality eventually improved over the course of the day, just over half of the units built on Thursday were approved for shipment. Even with workers ordered to stay late to fix their mistakes, some 1,078 units remained outside the facility with defects. The problem, according to workers at the plant, is morale.
According to the report, Chrysler recently changed the shift schedule at the plant and workers are unhappy with the new situation. The new plan has workers split into three shifts, each covering four 10-hour days. With the shifts staggered, some workers now have to work nights and on Saturdays. Some employees are so upset that they've taken to protesting, though the move isn't sanctioned by the United Auto Workers.
Meanwhile, Chrysler admits there were internal issues with the launch, but that the company was able to contain them. A spokesperson has said "plant quality indicators are getting progressively better."
According to the report, Chrysler recently changed the shift schedule at the plant and workers are unhappy with the new situation. The new plan has workers split into three shifts, each covering four 10-hour days. With the shifts staggered, some workers now have to work nights and on Saturdays. Some employees are so upset that they've taken to protesting, though the move isn't sanctioned by the United Auto Workers.
Meanwhile, Chrysler admits there were internal issues with the launch, but that the company was able to contain them. A spokesperson has said "plant quality indicators are getting progressively better."
4/21/13, 11:43 AM
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4/23/13, 09:36 PM
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Maybe this has something to do with the reason why companies are deciding to build more vehicles in the third world countries (in addition to lower costs) ...
Something like this would never happen there because there are barely any jobs available and workers try to do the best job possible. I have a relative who works at Fiat's factory in Kragujevac, Serbia where Fiat 500L is being built. He gets paid only ~600 euros per month (or about 5-6 times less than the Italian worker building the same car does), but often he stays late even thou he doesn't receive overtime pay and often has to work weekends (he usually works about 60 hours or so per week and is still paid like he's working 40). He still does the best job possible because he really appreciate that he has a job.
Instead of intentionally building a bad product because they're unhappy of the shift changes ...
Something like this would never happen there because there are barely any jobs available and workers try to do the best job possible. I have a relative who works at Fiat's factory in Kragujevac, Serbia where Fiat 500L is being built. He gets paid only ~600 euros per month (or about 5-6 times less than the Italian worker building the same car does), but often he stays late even thou he doesn't receive overtime pay and often has to work weekends (he usually works about 60 hours or so per week and is still paid like he's working 40). He still does the best job possible because he really appreciate that he has a job.
Instead of intentionally building a bad product because they're unhappy of the shift changes ...
http://ssl.marketplace.org/topics/wo...spite-violence
http://americablog.com/2012/10/japan...-in-china.html
http://www.france24.com/en/20100527-...-auto-industry
http://ssl.marketplace.org/topics/wo...s-dramatic-end
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2...y-of-violence/
I, too, work about 60 hours a week and get paid for 40. I'm salary. I work my *** off and am very happy for the job I have. I stay late and work on weekends often as well. Several of the production guys and gals where I work have been working seven-days-per-week for the past year or more. While most of our laborers get paid overtime, a lot of our line management are salary so, while they're there seven-days-per-week with everyone else, they're only getting paid for 40 hours. Yeah, we have some lazy, worthless idiots, but the vast majority of our workers bust their asses seven-days-per-week, a lot of times over the course of 10-12 hour shifts (that isn't always the case, but if someone has to cover a vacation or something to that effect, they're working 12 hours a day). And these aren't burger-flippers I'm talking about; this is all skilled labor consistently producing quality parts with features measured in microns (0.001mm) The notion that, somehow, a third world country is impervious to disgruntled idiots because they're all just so happy to have a job is ludicrous. The company I work for has plants in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South American and the United States. Every country, no matter the region, no matter the amount of jobs available, no matter the wages has its fair share of ****-poor labor, so how about backing off the American-bashing rhetoric that's seemed to have permeated a lot of your posts of late?
4/24/13, 08:24 AM
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I agree with Mars, you have alot of good workers in the US and I'd say on balance the good definitely outweigh the bad but like Cristoff said, ultimately its a money game and setting up shop where you can add something to the bottom line is ''good'' business.
IMO, the issue of America being littered with bad workers is largely a construct of the media with politicians stoking the fire and supported by anecdotal evidence.
Frankly, the issue of developed countries losing jobs to lesser developed countries has been par for the course. The US did it to western Europe and now Asia is doing it to the US. When Asia has matured into a place like the US then it will be off to Africa and so on as the easiest path to profit is to exploit markets with the least amount of controls, untapped resources and a large pool of cheap labor (trained and untrained).
IMO, the issue of America being littered with bad workers is largely a construct of the media with politicians stoking the fire and supported by anecdotal evidence.
Frankly, the issue of developed countries losing jobs to lesser developed countries has been par for the course. The US did it to western Europe and now Asia is doing it to the US. When Asia has matured into a place like the US then it will be off to Africa and so on as the easiest path to profit is to exploit markets with the least amount of controls, untapped resources and a large pool of cheap labor (trained and untrained).
4/24/13, 09:42 AM
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Yeah, what company in their right mind would open shop in America, hiring their worthless, lazy, uneducated workers?! Asia is where it's at! Those guys are just so darn happy to have a job, they wouldn't do anything to hurt production... or resort to violence...
http://ssl.marketplace.org/topics/wo...spite-violence
http://americablog.com/2012/10/japan...-in-china.html
http://www.france24.com/en/20100527-...-auto-industry
http://ssl.marketplace.org/topics/wo...s-dramatic-end
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2...y-of-violence/
I, too, work about 60 hours a week and get paid for 40. I'm salary. I work my *** off and am very happy for the job I have. I stay late and work on weekends often as well. Several of the production guys and gals where I work have been working seven-days-per-week for the past year or more. While most of our laborers get paid overtime, a lot of our line management are salary so, while they're there seven-days-per-week with everyone else, they're only getting paid for 40 hours. Yeah, we have some lazy, worthless idiots, but the vast majority of our workers bust their asses seven-days-per-week, a lot of times over the course of 10-12 hour shifts (that isn't always the case, but if someone has to cover a vacation or something to that effect, they're working 12 hours a day). And these aren't burger-flippers I'm talking about; this is all skilled labor consistently producing quality parts with features measured in microns (0.001mm) The notion that, somehow, a third world country is impervious to disgruntled idiots because they're all just so happy to have a job is ludicrous. The company I work for has plants in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South American and the United States. Every country, no matter the region, no matter the amount of jobs available, no matter the wages has its fair share of ****-poor labor, so how about backing off the American-bashing rhetoric that's seemed to have permeated a lot of your posts of late?
http://ssl.marketplace.org/topics/wo...spite-violence
http://americablog.com/2012/10/japan...-in-china.html
http://www.france24.com/en/20100527-...-auto-industry
http://ssl.marketplace.org/topics/wo...s-dramatic-end
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2...y-of-violence/
I, too, work about 60 hours a week and get paid for 40. I'm salary. I work my *** off and am very happy for the job I have. I stay late and work on weekends often as well. Several of the production guys and gals where I work have been working seven-days-per-week for the past year or more. While most of our laborers get paid overtime, a lot of our line management are salary so, while they're there seven-days-per-week with everyone else, they're only getting paid for 40 hours. Yeah, we have some lazy, worthless idiots, but the vast majority of our workers bust their asses seven-days-per-week, a lot of times over the course of 10-12 hour shifts (that isn't always the case, but if someone has to cover a vacation or something to that effect, they're working 12 hours a day). And these aren't burger-flippers I'm talking about; this is all skilled labor consistently producing quality parts with features measured in microns (0.001mm) The notion that, somehow, a third world country is impervious to disgruntled idiots because they're all just so happy to have a job is ludicrous. The company I work for has plants in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South American and the United States. Every country, no matter the region, no matter the amount of jobs available, no matter the wages has its fair share of ****-poor labor, so how about backing off the American-bashing rhetoric that's seemed to have permeated a lot of your posts of late?
There's a very interesting parts in the book about workers and what they were able to get away with because of the UAW.
And I'm gonna use Fiat's factory in Serbia again - if workers there tried anything similar, they would be fired the same day.
By the way, I never called American workers "worthless, lazy and uneducated" ... All I'm saying is - there is a reason why jobs are moving outside the USA.
And here's another story that I wanna tell you ... I moved to the USA when I was almost 15. Less than 6 months later I had my first job at McDonalds. It wasn't much, it was just weekends and I would take trash out, clean trays, wash windows and so on and I was paid $5.15/hour. I couldn't do anything else because I barely spoke English.
Well, few weeks into that job this guy, who was maybe in his mid 20s, gets fired because McDonalds didn't need both of us for the same position. He was there for maybe 6 months or so (I found this out later on) and he lost his position because of me. And he was upset, no doubt about that, and he comes to me one day (and I will never forget that day) and said "I hate you all ****ing immigrants, you come here and take jobs from us hard working Americans" (maybe that's not word for word, because I didn't speak much English then, but that's the main idea).
Now, you have a guy who was born in the USA, speaks perfect English, knows the culture and he loses his McDonalds job to a kid who barely spoke English. How is that possible? We were both working for the same wage. Because that $5.15/hour was like dream come true for me. After living in a third world country and collecting pennys every morning to be able to afford the bread, that $5.15 felt like a million bucks to me. I didn't feel ashamed that I had to take the garbage out or do any other type of dirty work - this other guy did and his idea was "well it's just a McDonalds, I can find a job like this one anywhere else".
Many Americans take their jobs for granted. They don't know how good they have it. I left a link above where workers are intentionally building a bad product (Ram 1500) because they're unhappy of the shift changes.
And factory cannot do anything regarding that because workers are protected by UAW. I guarantee you - where I'm from, nothing like that would ever happen.
4/24/13, 11:02 AM
#14
Bullitt Member
And people want to know why there are less and less [good/great] jobs out there, keep it up and we'll be a country of mostly poverty wage families.
Don't forget those same families footed the bailout for the big three and they pull this ****. Pisses me off!
Signed,
Former UAW worker that worked 6 days a week, now a steel worker for Uncle Sam.
Don't forget those same families footed the bailout for the big three and they pull this ****. Pisses me off!
Signed,
Former UAW worker that worked 6 days a week, now a steel worker for Uncle Sam.
4/24/13, 11:28 AM
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........ Id love to add my thoughts, but I m not going to lose my job by telling what's the issue in my plant ( management)
Last edited by UnrealFord; 4/24/13 at 11:35 AM.
4/24/13, 11:43 AM
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I think there are lazy or unappreciative workers all around the world. Being from America doesn't make you lazy, and being from a 3rd world country doesn't make you a hard worker
4/24/13, 02:36 PM
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Here's a book that you should read. I mentioned it few times before - it was written by one of managers in a very large Ford factory.
There's a very interesting parts in the book about workers and what they were able to get away with because of the UAW.
And I'm gonna use Fiat's factory in Serbia again - if workers there tried anything similar, they would be fired the same day.
By the way, I never called American workers "worthless, lazy and uneducated" ... All I'm saying is - there is a reason why jobs are moving outside the USA.
And here's another story that I wanna tell you ... I moved to the USA when I was almost 15. Less than 6 months later I had my first job at McDonalds. It wasn't much, it was just weekends and I would take trash out, clean trays, wash windows and so on and I was paid $5.15/hour. I couldn't do anything else because I barely spoke English.
Well, few weeks into that job this guy, who was maybe in his mid 20s, gets fired because McDonalds didn't need both of us for the same position. He was there for maybe 6 months or so (I found this out later on) and he lost his position because of me. And he was upset, no doubt about that, and he comes to me one day (and I will never forget that day) and said "I hate you all ****ing immigrants, you come here and take jobs from us hard working Americans" (maybe that's not word for word, because I didn't speak much English then, but that's the main idea).
Now, you have a guy who was born in the USA, speaks perfect English, knows the culture and he loses his McDonalds job to a kid who barely spoke English. How is that possible? We were both working for the same wage. Because that $5.15/hour was like dream come true for me. After living in a third world country and collecting pennys every morning to be able to afford the bread, that $5.15 felt like a million bucks to me. I didn't feel ashamed that I had to take the garbage out or do any other type of dirty work - this other guy did and his idea was "well it's just a McDonalds, I can find a job like this one anywhere else".
Many Americans take their jobs for granted. They don't know how good they have it. I left a link above where workers are intentionally building a bad product (Ram 1500) because they're unhappy of the shift changes. And factory cannot do anything regarding that because workers are protected by UAW. I guarantee you - where I'm from, nothing like that would ever happen.
There's a very interesting parts in the book about workers and what they were able to get away with because of the UAW.
And I'm gonna use Fiat's factory in Serbia again - if workers there tried anything similar, they would be fired the same day.
By the way, I never called American workers "worthless, lazy and uneducated" ... All I'm saying is - there is a reason why jobs are moving outside the USA.
And here's another story that I wanna tell you ... I moved to the USA when I was almost 15. Less than 6 months later I had my first job at McDonalds. It wasn't much, it was just weekends and I would take trash out, clean trays, wash windows and so on and I was paid $5.15/hour. I couldn't do anything else because I barely spoke English.
Well, few weeks into that job this guy, who was maybe in his mid 20s, gets fired because McDonalds didn't need both of us for the same position. He was there for maybe 6 months or so (I found this out later on) and he lost his position because of me. And he was upset, no doubt about that, and he comes to me one day (and I will never forget that day) and said "I hate you all ****ing immigrants, you come here and take jobs from us hard working Americans" (maybe that's not word for word, because I didn't speak much English then, but that's the main idea).
Now, you have a guy who was born in the USA, speaks perfect English, knows the culture and he loses his McDonalds job to a kid who barely spoke English. How is that possible? We were both working for the same wage. Because that $5.15/hour was like dream come true for me. After living in a third world country and collecting pennys every morning to be able to afford the bread, that $5.15 felt like a million bucks to me. I didn't feel ashamed that I had to take the garbage out or do any other type of dirty work - this other guy did and his idea was "well it's just a McDonalds, I can find a job like this one anywhere else".
Many Americans take their jobs for granted. They don't know how good they have it. I left a link above where workers are intentionally building a bad product (Ram 1500) because they're unhappy of the shift changes.
And factory cannot do anything regarding that because workers are protected by UAW. I guarantee you - where I'm from, nothing like that would ever happen.Unions I think had there place and still do but it way out of hand. He probelly didn't feel ashamed to take the garbage out or do any other type of dirty work either but if the other guy did and his idea was "well it's just a McDonalds, I can find a job like this one anywhere else" then he is one of the few that really believe that. I hope you went through the steps needed to become a legal US worker and didn't let Mr. Obama just hand you your freedom.
I was born here in the USA and my Mom and Dad and everyone back to my Great Great Grand Parents have been born in the United States of America and the very first of my family came across at Ellis Island
4/24/13, 03:58 PM
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How did you came to that conclusion?
I came to the USA legally. Back in the late 1990s where was a program for people like myself who couldn't go back to their birth country because of the war (I was born in Croatia, but couldn't live there because Serbs got kicked out during the war).
When my family came to the USA, we got social security cards right away, my parents got their work permits right away, 1 year later we got green cards and 3 years later we became citizens.
Not every immigrant in the USA is illegal you know ...
I came to the USA legally. Back in the late 1990s where was a program for people like myself who couldn't go back to their birth country because of the war (I was born in Croatia, but couldn't live there because Serbs got kicked out during the war).
When my family came to the USA, we got social security cards right away, my parents got their work permits right away, 1 year later we got green cards and 3 years later we became citizens.
Not every immigrant in the USA is illegal you know ...
Last edited by Zastava_101; 4/24/13 at 04:00 PM.
4/24/13, 04:10 PM
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I'm saying that I understand the position that GM, Ford and Chrysler are in. Americans have some of the cheapest cars in the world; yet, factory workers in the auto industry in the USA are among the highest in salaries.
A factory worker in auto industry in the eastern Europe works for $4/hour. And company doesn't have to worry about UAW; if sales are slow they can close factory for X number of months without still paying worker's salaries (unlike the USA where they have to pay them whether they're working or not due to UAW's contracts). And workers are not gonna build a bad product on purpose because they're unhappy over a shift change ...