"With European and US workers unwilling to accept pay cuts..."
I'm perfectly willing to accept a pay cut to keep the country competitive.
Where can I rent a hovel for $5 a week?
Can India also provide a market for these cars after the final "victory"?
Better India than Red China
There is no doubt that India will get some offers, but US firms are a long way from rolling over and puting feet up. Although the management and union staff at GM had better look this over carefully. Now is not a good time to be stubborn. But it looks like GM workers will dictate that the company drop the dividend.
Watch for renewed efforts to find tort reform to drop these huge health care costs, (ant look at solutions involving immigration as well). The global world is going to have to develop a "global" solution.
Because European countries have powerful unions that will not stand for it. Because countries with double digit or near double digit unemployement and strong levels of government intervention will not allow jobs to be shipped to India.
I think India will be China's demise in growth.
I believe that India being also a democracy, no threat, respecting patent and copyright laws, with an open and free society that largely speaks English and is educated (In a British style system) will over take China economically in the end.
China will slow in growth as issues such as support for N. Korea, threats to Japan and Taiwan, sweat shops, crushing dissident movements, censorship, espionage, possible state nationalization catch up with them and deters foreign investment. I believe that despite all the hype about the massive growth in China in our media (The projections showing them to be this huge economic super power in 25 years) you will see it slow down in the next decade, while India will accelerate. The writer of the article only mentions the cost of labor. However, many other factors play into the equation as well.
Already today US firms are moving to India. If you look at what is moving to India it’s high tech jobs in part. Why? They have the labor force capable of doing complex tasks (IT and even Chip manufacturers). They have many who can be used in outsourced jobs answering phones in English. Can you EVER imagine the US sharing defense technology with China in its current state? But with India it’s possible in the future. As an investor in China I must seriously consider the Chinese government at some point taking away my property. Ask Hollywood how good the Chinese enforce copyright laws. I see India as growing a lot in the near future. The framework in this nation has more potential than China. China is cheap, but that’s about it. China as Russia will slow in their growth because of self-imposed constraints while India will grow for a long time.
Red6
I don't wonder, what with their double digit unemployment already.
The biggest obstacle to Ford and GM in the US is pensions as well as health insurance for retirees. Huge legacy costs with no return.