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© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Alabama incentives for Toyota-Mazda factory top $700 million
MONTGOMERY, Ala©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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toshiko
The owners name is Toyoda.
The name change.
MitsuiToyoda. Then Toyota.
Literally, rug to rich accomplishment after Japan lost war.
toshiko
@senkaku:Subaru may be looking at your area. Any Japanese companies love your area. They don't like Nevada.
senkan
@Toshiko
Nissan is still in Canton, Mississippi BTW.
toshiko
Alabama didn't have to offer incentive. but it did. Now, there will be competition of Japanese part makers. About a dozen tire manufacturers. Alabama may have eyes on business of them.
toshiko
Subaru and new Mitsubishi are making cars in Southern Calif.
toshiko
@laguna
Nissan in Cantong Miss., UAW came to unionize. Instead, Nissan moved out and returned to Tennessee, pay rate went up $40 one hr. Bernie Sanders came to help strike but after finding pay rate, he abandoned helping auto workers. That was a couple years ago. With these pay rates, Japanese automakers are successful in USA. But best profitable carmakers in Alabama is. Mercedes. It's products are popular in Western states where he students drive their own Japanese brand cars while papa and mama drive Mercedes.
Arrrgh-Type
North Carolina was the other serious candidate for the site, which would have been huge as there's never been a major auto factory there, to my knowledge. The state has a well educated workforce, booming economy, and high standard of living. And unions wouldn't have been an issue, as it's one of the least unionized states in the country.
In the negative column, the lack of existing automotive supplier infrastructure was probably a factor. But let's be honest, the local and state governments just weren't quite as willing to open up the public coffers as Alabama, which will apparently offer just about anything to get a factory (see above).
Laguna
toshiko - $40/hour?! - ha ha! Check your stats. Other problems exist as well, particularly at suppliers.
Still, it's Alabama. There aren't many other choices.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-03-23/inside-alabama-s-auto-jobs-boom-cheap-wages-little-training-crushed-limbs
toshiko
In Mexico, Toyota and Mazda manufacture cars and trucks together as if they are one company. The practice made Trump mad at them. I got feeling both companies will operate the same way in Alabama. So, no problem. Nissan will create cars in Europe with three different companies. Just doing Japanese type successful manufacturing practice. One Japanese industry economist explained this kind of practice as Ubiquitus economy growth in his book about 30 yrs ago.
toshiko
One reason Japanese automakers love to go there and other southern states is UAW will not bother factory automation. In Michigan, factooories had to follow UAW standard. In Alabama, etc, unskilled workers can be push button technitians. Pay rate may be same but woorkers do not have to contribute union dues and large retiremennnt funds. I think $40 hurs an hour now. Cheap maybe but better than paying half to union.
Samit Basu
@ozziedesigner
Corporate welfare or not, this is a bad news for Mazda.
Toyota Corolla and Mazda CX-5 rolling off this factory cannot be two separate vehicles.
So whose platform is it going to be? Toyota's or Mazda's?
If Toyota's, then the CX-5 loses its driving dynamics.
If Mazda's, it will still suck because Mazda will be forced to engineer at Toyota cost level.
I don't understand why Mazda entered in this deal with Toyota.
ozziedesigner
corporate welfare