"The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, whose members will see increased business with the new plant.
This very situation was discussed ad nauseum in THIS THREAD.
"Toyota didn't make the claim that American workers were more difficult to train. A Canadian with an alterior motive did:"
The issue is not basic literacy of Canadian vs American workers.
Southern Ontario has a highly concentrated and large workforce of factory workers who have experience in factory production going back to the Second World War. They produced everything from toasters to refrigerators to cars, trucks and aircraft.
It is a large and highly concentrated and well trained workforce with a tradition of working in a disciplined factory environment.
The industrial core consisting of London, Kitchener, Brantford, Waterloo and Mississauga are right on the border and no further than 100 miles away from each other. There is well established and maintained highway and rail infrastructure.
Those workers can easily go from manufacturing low to high tech componests with minimal training.
I'm speaking primarily of sheet metal workers, mechanics and production managers.
Cheap labor can only take you so far. Eventually a large skilled workforce in a concentrated area will win out.