Ford's reinvestment in the Flat Rock assembly plant

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/04/the-real-reason-ford-abandoned-its-plant-in-mexico-has-little-to-do-with-trump/?utm_term=.b01667fd3e5b

The next wave of workers in Flat Rock will build mostly self-driving and electric cars, including a hybrid Mustang. Unlike manufacturing roles of decades past, though, the jobs will probably require computer literacy and more than a high school degree.

“The era of the electric vehicle is dawning,” Fields told his employees this week, “and we at Ford plan to be a leader in this exciting future.”

The new employment opportunities — the tickets to the middle class — will not look like the old ones. Economists say auto manufacturing at Ford and beyond will become increasingly automated, resulting in fewer jobs for more highly skilled workers.

Ford’s move became political after Fields expressed confidence in the business climate under President-elect Donald Trump, and Trump on Twitter took credit for the company’s decision. Both men invoked the importance of protecting American jobs.

Analysts, though, say Ford’s decision stemmed more from its long-term goals than the new administration or devotion to U.S. workers. The company aims to invest $4.5 billion in electric vehicles by 2020. (The company would not comment on the specifics of the 700 new positions.)

"We expect a big change in the next decade on not only the growing affordability,” Fields said, “but also the consumer acceptance of electrified vehicles.”

steveschneider wrote:Sounds like there isn't much there for the blue collar worker, but on the bright side that could attract more tech related jobs to the state. 700 is a small number in the grand scheme of things, but if it brings in or encourages a scientist/engineers to stay in Michigan I think that's a good thing.

Manufacturing has continued to grow, and the sector itself remains a large, important, and growing sector of the U.S. economy. Employment in manufacturing has stagnated for some time, primarily due to growth in productivity of manufacturing production processes. Three factors have contributed to changes in manufacturing employment in recent years: Productivity, trade, and domestic demand. Overwhelmingly, the largest impact is productivity. Almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable to productivity growth, and the long-term changes to manufacturing employment are mostly linked to the productivity of American factories.

Turtleneck wrote:

steveschneider wrote:Sounds like there isn't much there for the blue collar worker, but on the bright side that could attract more tech related jobs to the state. 700 is a small number in the grand scheme of things, but if it brings in or encourages a scientist/engineers to stay in Michigan I think that's a good thing.

Well Steve, the nature (and geography) of labor in the U.S. has been changing for quite some time. I am not sure, at least in the long run, how beneficial it is to invest in the past as opposed to the future. As the article says, “Each iteration of a facility becomes less like old school manufacturing and more high-tech,” and “That will ultimately mean fewer jobs. The people will have to keep learning throughout their careers. It won’t be like the old days, when you do the same thing for 40 years.” So the skill level of the American worker is going to have to match the technology, and as automation increases more workers will likely be displaced. The end of the article cites this study, which includes in its summary

Manufacturing has continued to grow, and the sector itself remains a large, important, and growing sector of the U.S. economy. Employment in manufacturing has stagnated for some time, primarily due to growth in productivity of manufacturing production processes. Three factors have contributed to changes in manufacturing employment in recent years: Productivity, trade, and domestic demand. Overwhelmingly, the largest impact is productivity. Almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable to productivity growth, and the long-term changes to manufacturing employment are mostly linked to the productivity of American factories.

Turtleneck wrote:

steveschneider wrote:Sounds like there isn't much there for the blue collar worker, but on the bright side that could attract more tech related jobs to the state. 700 is a small number in the grand scheme of things, but if it brings in or encourages a scientist/engineers to stay in Michigan I think that's a good thing.

Well Steve, the nature (and geography) of labor in the U.S. has been changing for quite some time. I am not sure, at least in the long run, how beneficial it is to invest in the past as opposed to the future. As the article says, “Each iteration of a facility becomes less like old school manufacturing and more high-tech,” and “That will ultimately mean fewer jobs. The people will have to keep learning throughout their careers. It won’t be like the old days, when you do the same thing for 40 years.” So the skill level of the American worker is going to have to match the technology, and as automation increases more workers will likely be displaced. The end of the article cites this study, which includes in its summary

Manufacturing has continued to grow, and the sector itself remains a large, important, and growing sector of the U.S. economy. Employment in manufacturing has stagnated for some time, primarily due to growth in productivity of manufacturing production processes. Three factors have contributed to changes in manufacturing employment in recent years: Productivity, trade, and domestic demand. Overwhelmingly, the largest impact is productivity. Almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable to productivity growth, and the long-term changes to manufacturing employment are mostly linked to the productivity of American factories.

TheReal_LWS wrote:The fact is that there are 3600 employees at the Flat Rock plant. Even if the new 700 additional are all white collar (which they won't be), that is a lot of jobs to save. The Obama administration would count this as 4300 jobs created ("saved jobs equal created jobs").

$1.6 million to build new in Mexico vs $700 million to build new infrastructure in Flat Rock. Ford is winning on this too. WIN-WIN