Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Ford Should Ask Mexico For A Handout
Congress piece by
Dave Gibson
Over the last few years, Ford Motor Co. has invested a great deal of money in Mexico. In stark contrast, they have been laying-off workers and closing factories in the United States.
Despite the obvious lack of loyalty Ford has displayed in regards to American workers, that company is now asking Congress to extend them a $9 billion line of credit, as well as an extra $5 billion from a Department of Energy program which was supposed to be used as an incentive for U.S. manufacturers to produce more fuel efficient cars.
In 2006, Ford announced that it would close several plants across the country by 2008. Ford actually plans to lay-off 34,000 workers by 2012.
Shortly after that depressing announcement was made, The Detroit Free Press discovered documents which detailed Ford’s plans to invest $9.2 billion in Mexico, which includes a new 280,000 square foot assembly plant. Ford already produces a large portion of their vehicles in Mexico and with their plans to expand existing plants and by using local suppliers, Ford will create 37,420 jobs in Mexico.
Ford is not only replacing all of their laid-off American workers with Mexicans, they are actually adding another 3,420 employees to their workforce...only on the other side of the border!
In May 2008, The Washington Post ran an article entitled “Ford’s ‘Global Car’ To Roll Out in Mexico.” The story filed by reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia read as follows:
“MEXICO CITY, May 30—President Felipe Calderón announced Friday that Ford will build its new fuel-efficient Fiesta “global car” in suburban Mexico City and upgrade two plants here as part of a $3 billion investment, the largest in Mexican history by a foreign manufacturer.”
“The decision is a major setback for the United Auto Workers union, which has pushed Ford and other manufacturers to invest in U.S. plants. But it was a coup for the Mexican economy after years of losing manufacturing jobs to China and other Asian countries.”
“Industry analysts have long predicted that Ford would unveil a global car—a subcompact designed to be easily built and marketed anywhere in the world—but it was unclear until Friday which country would win the lucrative manufacturing deal. A UAW spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.”
Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Mexican President Felipe Calderon say that the deal will create another 4,500 manufacturing jobs in Mexico, with an additional 25,000 jobs generated locally for suppliers, transportation, etc. Director of Mexico City’s infrastructure development corporation Jorge de los Santos, told the Washington Post that those new jobs will be “great for Mexico.”
Ford also announced that they will be upgrading a transmission plant in the central state of Guanajuato, Mexico and build a new engine line at their existing plant in the state of Chihuahua. Ford plans to invest $2.4 billion in Mexico, with another $600 million coming from their suppliers and partners.
Now we see how Ford plans to spend their proposed $9 billion line of credit from the U.S. taxpayers!
The average wage in Mexico is $4.85 a day.
In 2006, General Motors began outsourcing many of their IT jobs to the Indian firm known as Wipro. In 2004, GM announced a $3 billion investment to expand their factories in China.
While both Ford and General Motors have been outsourcing jobs to foreign countries for years, Chrysler announced in April that they were shipping hundreds of their IT jobs to India as well.
These companies never relocate their operations to modern, industrialized nations. You never hear about them opening a plant in Sweden. They only open their doors in the Third World, where workers can live off of a dollar a day, or even less. By moving to a country whose standard of living is incredibly low, they basically eliminate their payroll. It amounts to slave labor.
Last week, only one lawmaker expressed concern over the Big Three sending more jobs overseas. Sen. John Tester (D-MT) told the three CEOs: “I don’t want to give American taxpayer dollars to somebody who’s going to invest it in some other country than this country.”
While Sen. Tester’s comments were very welcome to the ears of Americans weary of outsourcing, he was very much alone in his concern for the American worker. Unfortunately, our elected representatives are just as unconcerned with the plight of American jobs, as are those who actually send them to other countries.
A blog entry on SpartanTailagte.com may have summed up the entire situation perfectly. A blogger named “stateisgreat” wrote the following: “It makes me sick to drive by demolished auto manufacturing plants. I think that since the US car makers are sending so many jobs to China, Mexico and other places where they can oppress workers, many will be so turned off by GM and the like that they will buy more Toyotas and Hondas. People will figure, if GM does not believe in Lansing, Flint and Detroit, or anywhere else that they need to treat workers decently, then why should we support them?”
If Congress authorizes this bailout for the automakers, more jobs will be lost to Mexico and India, and the American taxpayers will have played an unwitting role in the continuing exodus of American jobs.
More than likely, a bailout will be granted and the American people will be forced to pay for it. Yet again, we are being robbed by those sworn to protect us.
Has anyone thought about outsourcing Congress?
Dave Gibson
HowardWasRight 
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