Automakers outsourcing more parts work to India

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER ^ | Friday, July 4, 2003

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

The scramble by the recession-wounded global automotive industry to find a source for low-cost, high-quality components has been a big boon to India's auto-parts makers.

Among the recent rash of announcements was one by the Delphi Corp., the world's largest automotive parts maker, saying it would have $140 million worth of auto parts made by Indian concerns and that such orders were expected to exceed $250 million a year by 2007.

The Ford Motor Co. said it expected to get more than $100 million worth of components from Indian parts makers in the next two years. Volvo said that it planned to increase its manufacturing in India to 100 million euros ($117 million) worth of parts in one year instead of three.

[Willie Green]

Related thread: GM awaits go-ahead on big new China investment

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

They keep shipping good jobs overseas and wonder why the growing number of unemployed Americans aren't buying new cars.

[RonF]

The great genius of Henry Ford was not the use of the assembly line to mass produce cars. That was simply a means to an end. His great genius was to realize what the effect would be if he could make cars inexpensively enough that the people who built them could buy them.

Keep shipping jobs like this overseas and there'll be some short-term gains, but in the long term ....

[crazykatz]

But in the long term... will you be having fries with that burger, sir?

[crazykatz]

WHAT!!! You mean unemployed Americans cannot buy cars?

Well, why not????

'CAUSE THEIR GOLL-DANGED JOBS GOT SENT SOME PLACE ELSE AND THEN THAT SOMEPLACE ELSE, CAME OVER HERE AND TOOK SOME MORE OF THE JOBS!!

It seems to me that somebody in this government does NOT have the brains/sense that God gave to mules!!

[AppyPappy]

Raise your hand. Who remembers Just-In-Time?

[Willie Green]

Raise your hand. Who remembers Just-In-Time?

Oooo, oooo, me, I do.. I do...

Great stuff... if it's actually put in practice...
The trouble is, the corporate bull$hit artists coopted and perverted the methodology,
All the @$$holes ever did was put on a big dog and pony show to supposedly "train" everybody, maybe implement a little demo project, then promptly declare "success" and axe 10~20% of the salaried staff whether methods improvements justified it or not. Outsourcing was another bogus "JIT" scam. Instead of implementing the changes that would lower internal lead times, inventory, etc, etc., all they did was shove the inventory out the door to a supplier (actually lengthening the inventory pipeline) and declare that their inventory was lower. Well no $hit, but 9 times out of 10 the product probably cost more to purchase than make in-house, especially if you include the cost of packaging and shipping (which the bull$hit artists rarely did.)

Yeppir. Ol' Willie Green remembers being down that road real well.

[SSN558]

"The great genius of Henry Ford was not the use of the assembly line to mass produce cars."

The other genius of Henry Ford was the idea of paying employees a living wage in a time when most businesses were importing cheap labor to increase profits. Sound familiar ? Highly paid Ford employees became customers purchasing the products that Ford produced. It made the company grow to number one and put America on wheels. Today Ford employees still drive the companies products, to do otherwise is a careeer limiting choice.

[proudofthesouth]

Well said.

[crazykatz]

Thank you sir!

[RightWingNut]

Just a thought. Does anyone (other then me) think perhaps one reason for this is no U.A.W. in India ?

Surely I'm wrong.

[crazykatz]

That is very simplistic reasoning. You see, UAW members STILL buy US cars...

INDIANS in the USA are driving Japanese cars... well, over at the Bank of America GREAT BIG PARKING LOT that is nearby.... I get to see HUNDREDS of them drive up in all sorts of foreign cars... get out and trot into the buildings to work at jobs that GOOD OLD AMERICANS USED TO HAVE... before they were laid-off after training their H1B visa holding Indian replacements.

BANK of AMERICA WAS NOT A UNION SHOP.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, what do think of that?

[proudofthesouth]

FYI, its madam! Happy 4th of July! Have a safe weekend! ;)

[crazykatz]

OOOPS! Sorry.... I'm a gal too!

Saw some fireworks tonight... had a nice time and came right back to FR.

Going on a little trip on Sunday to visit my daughter, should be great!!

Hope you have a nice weekend, deary.

[gonzo]

You broads wanna hold it down??

The menfolk are talking serious stuff here! Smootches!................FRegards

[templar]

It seems to me that somebody in this government does NOT have the brains/sense that God gave to mules!!

Of course they do. They're achieving their goals with remarkable speed.

[boycott]

This kind of bs makes me sick. We've got to get some real men in Washington. We need to start some anti- Nafta and Gatt rallies.

[lelio]

Does anyone (other then me) think perhaps one reason for this is no U.A.W. in India ?

There is no way a union is causing the difference between a $50/hr job here and a $1/hr one there.
And who here believes the costs of cars will go down due to this?

[AppyPappy]

Remember that JIT (which management INSISTED on with its vendors) included having vendor facilities near the manufacturing plant because management didn't want to hold inventory. Auto manufacturers were especially keen on JIT.