cross-posted from : https://lemmy.zip/post/63264799
And, a recent tour of one of the Asian powerhouse’s vehicle plants has proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt, at least to Honda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe.
“We have no chance against this,” Mibe said upon a visit to a Shanghai parts factory, commenting on its seamless automation across all levels of production. Logistics, procurement and all aspects of the process were so automated, in fact, that he did not spot a single human worker on the supplier’s floor.
Ford executives saying even three years ago that China was way ahead of the game
Toyota’s CEO has likewise said regarding not just his company, but the industry in general, “unless things change, we will not survive”
Hard to feel sympathy when a multi billion dollar company complains.
Except the death of those poorly run companies means the loss of 400,000 direct jobs.
Especially when they are using cash for stock buybacks and dividends. For decades they favored share holders over development and employees. Hopefully the employees get help if these companies really can’t compete. But Ford had billions in positive cash flow last year, so maybe this is all just crying wolf right now.