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Trump May Have Won, But Ford Is Still Moving Its Small-Car Production to Mexico
New York Magazine ^ | November 16, 2016 | Charley Lanyon

Posted on 11/16/2016 5:46:17 AM PST by monkapotamus

Ford’s chief executive officer Mark Fields must not respond well to threats; he admitted to Reuters on Tuesday that Ford was still planning on moving the production of its small cars from Michigan to — you guessed it — Mexico...

Fields claimed that the move would not have any effect at all on American jobs because the move south will “make room for two very important products we’ll be putting back into Michigan plants.”

Ford has yet to announce what, exactly, those “important products” are, but Fields is convinced that the move will lead to “no job impact whatsoever.”

“It’s very difficult for us to be able to make money on a vehicle produced in the U.S,” said Fields, explaining that if they were to raise the cost of their smaller cars to compensate for the increased cost of manufacturing in the United States the car just “wouldn’t sell...”

(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...


TOPICS: Mexico; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: 2016issues; automakers; ford; fordmotor; layoffs; manufacturing; nafta; trump; trumptransition
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To: mbarker12474
Why would you favor or disfavor a business for looking out for its own self-interest? And making decisions based on the law of the land where they are headquartered?

Because I want to punish them for hurting American workers and I can ...
81 posted on 11/16/2016 6:26:12 AM PST by Scythian_Reborn
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To: ican'tbelieveit
Right. I drive a compact car made in Japan, and use an American-made truck for work.

You'll probably find that this trend in auto/truck manufacturing is very common. It's no coincidence that when these foreign companies open new plants in the U.S., they are typically building larger vehicles like SUVs and light trucks.

82 posted on 11/16/2016 6:26:19 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Yo, bartender -- Jobu needs a refill!")
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To: ilovesarah2012

I have a Ford Taurus wagon.

It still does.

:D


83 posted on 11/16/2016 6:27:14 AM PST by Salamander (Joan Crawford Has Risen From The Grave...)
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To: Gen.Blather

Bull.

The Koreans are making plenty of small cars in the Southeast (USA).

All selling quite well I might add.


84 posted on 11/16/2016 6:27:54 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: monkapotamus

I would suspect that one of those lines will be for their F-150 and/or Expedition, possibly Superduty, vehicles. The other, I suspect, will be for the rumored Bronco revival. SUVs and pickup trucks are the only vehicles that really make any money for the big manufacturers in the US, so it makes sense to shift loss-leader econobox cars off to a cheaper plant to make room for the company’s bread-and-butter products.


85 posted on 11/16/2016 6:27:56 AM PST by Little Pig
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To: anton
Those are auto workers. they are not coming to the US in the back of a pickup.

If you destroy their auto industry via a trade war they won't be auto workers any longer.

86 posted on 11/16/2016 6:28:19 AM PST by semimojo
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To: xzins

Hopefully the big manufacturers will do the math on the 35% import fee and follow their bottom line.


87 posted on 11/16/2016 6:29:17 AM PST by Delta 21 (Patiently waiting for the jack booted kick at my door.)
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To: monkapotamus

Make them in South Carolina. No UAW problem. No tarriff. Where do I send the hill for consulting.


88 posted on 11/16/2016 6:29:45 AM PST by RinaseaofDs (Truth, in a time of universal deceit, is courage)
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To: monkapotamus

This might be a good thing. All of the illegals being deported will be able to find jobs!


89 posted on 11/16/2016 6:30:32 AM PST by KittenClaws ( Normalcy Bias. Do you have it?)
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To: Fai Mao
Ford needs to move its production to a non union state and cut ties with the UAW.

South Carolina.
90 posted on 11/16/2016 6:32:11 AM PST by Resettozero
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To: JayAr36
Here's something else to consider ...

Some of the strongest lobbyists for EPA fuel efficiency standards aren't environmentalists -- they're engine manufacturers. They push for these higher fuel efficiency standards because the regulations force auto manufacturers to pay a premium for newer, more advanced engines. This is why Barack Obama announced one of his new diesel emission regulations not at an appearance with environmentalists, but at an appearance with the CEO of Cummins.

So a company like Ford basically has to move part of its operations to Mexico to offset the higher cost of engines that have been mandated by the Federal government due the lobbying efforts of one of their own suppliers.

This is crony capitalism at its worst. And this is why I have no problem with a company like Ford building cars in Mexico. If they're going to have to deal with a sh!tty, corrupt, Third World government, they might as well deal with the one in Mexico City that costs less than the one in Washington.

91 posted on 11/16/2016 6:32:58 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Yo, bartender -- Jobu needs a refill!")
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To: Former Proud Canadian
Just be prepared for the consequences of impoverishing your neighbor.

"...impoverishing your neighbor..." Unbelievable.
92 posted on 11/16/2016 6:33:26 AM PST by Resettozero
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To: Peter W. Kessler

It’s not ugly, especially if you’re satisfied with it. It’s not a Pontiac Aztek.


93 posted on 11/16/2016 6:33:33 AM PST by PLMerite (Lord, let me die fighting lions. Amen.)
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To: RinaseaofDs

Ford’s contract with the UAW covers the entire country, including right-to-work states. This is why Ford doesn’t bother opening plants in the South, since they’d be required to have UAW workers anyway.


94 posted on 11/16/2016 6:34:31 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Yo, bartender -- Jobu needs a refill!")
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To: Alberta's Child
...they have to sell even MORE Focus models just to meet those EPA standards.

DJT has addressed the issue of over-weaning EPA "standards". Just you wait.
95 posted on 11/16/2016 6:35:35 AM PST by Resettozero
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To: central_va
Really? Prove it. The stockholders will have non of that.

Precisely. The primary motive of a stockholder is social justice. Any economist will tell you that!

96 posted on 11/16/2016 6:35:43 AM PST by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: RinaseaofDs
Where do I send the bill for consulting?

Trump Tower, NYC.
97 posted on 11/16/2016 6:36:38 AM PST by Resettozero
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To: semimojo

Are we still peddling this crap? Free trade with Mexico and BLAM all the illegals coming here will go back, because they don’t really wanna be here anyway, and they’ll have jobs now in Mexico..yea yea. Take away their auto industry and they’ll flood us..blah blah

The standard of living there is not any better, and these companies along with a severely corrupt Mexican government pocket all the profit from the cheap labor.


98 posted on 11/16/2016 6:38:12 AM PST by snarkytart
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To: Resettozero

He hasn’t “addressed” anything yet. We’ll see how quickly he acts on these stupid regulations.


99 posted on 11/16/2016 6:38:21 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Yo, bartender -- Jobu needs a refill!")
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To: xzins
I would hope that any tariff on those cars returning to the USA would cover slightly more than that labor difference in each car.

Tariffs could be part of the solution but massive ones are bad. The real root problem here is the crushing regulatory burden and Trump can do that without any risk of igniting any sort of trade war. Sweep away some of the ridiculous regulations and costs will come down without anyone taking a pay cut and no new taxes driving up costs to consumers. And the President can do most of it without any help from congress since it's all bureaucratically derived mumbo jumbo, not law. Let's start there.

100 posted on 11/16/2016 6:39:00 AM PST by pepsi_junkie (ui)
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