Toyota snubs Southern USA workforce...

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"Citing the high quality of the workforce in Ontario, Toyota decided to build a second plant in the Province. The financial incentives amounted to half of the amount offered by Alabama and Mississippi. According to a July Canadian Press story, a Toyota Spokesman said it had learned the lessons from Honda and Nissan which had found the workforce in Southern US to be untrained and illiteriate. In fact, trainers in Alabama had to use pictorials to teach workers how to use the equipment."
-Universal Press Syndicate
 
Of course those Toyotas made by superior folks in other parts that are powered by the V6 & V8 engines won't be going anywhere b/c the engines are made in Huntsville, AL.
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Toyota can bite my ****!! Nissan is kicking some serious posterior over in Smyrna, TN. Yes, your high-quality Titan is built by a "dumb southern American".

Hyundai? Are they having problems making market headway and happy customers since their cars are built in Alabama by "stupid southern Americans"? Not nowadays!! Ask any of the recent Hyundai owners on this very board.

Oh yeah, and your Saturn Vue and ION are built by "dumb southern Americans", too.

I'm glad I got rid of my "quality-based" Toyota, a 99 Sienna, for my Saturn Vue. IMO, Toyota already had it's quality hey-day. There's some real pompous rear-ends at Toyota. That report really frosted my ***.

I'm NEVER buying a Toyota. Ever.
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It's hard to believe they made that statement. I certainly don't think it will help their car sales in the South. That's assuming they will still take these Southerners money.
 
To appease the southern consumer expect a 2/3rd size Charger knock-off with the model named "General Lee."

Your messed-up Marketing mind at work.

Had to ponder a bit to come up with the idea.

Yaaaaaaaa Hooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
obbop, I'd buy one of them.

can't get much more southern than Oz.

(and we've got lots of Dukes of Hazzard sitcom short-cuts too)
 
I believe this snippet has been modified from the original. Please post link to where you pasted from.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
"Citing the high quality of the workforce in Ontario, Toyota decided to build a second plant in the Province. The financial incentives amounted to half of the amount offered by Alabama and Mississippi. According to a July Canadian Press story, a Toyota Spokesman said it had learned the lessons from Honda and Nissan which had found the workforce in Southern US to be untrained and illiteriate. In fact, trainers in Alabama had to use pictorials to teach workers how to use the equipment."
-Universal Press Syndicate


You got a link? Considering that UPS is not a news wire but syndication service for various writers like "Dear Abby" and such, my bullcrap meter is pegged on this one. ****, I am from San Antonio with one of the highest illiteracy per capita and Toyota is still building a truck plant here. Toyota can build a plant in the anywhere in the USA and still get enough "qualified" applicants.

Not everything sent by e-mail or found on the internet is true.

Hootbro
 
total baloney....besides, their truck plant is being built presently in San Antonio, Tx. Not exactly Deep South in the traditional sense, altho English is often rare.....
 
The decision to build in Ontario has rumored to be more to do with employee benefit costs. Namely, in Canada, health care is socialized and essentially free to an employer. It is paid for by every citizen in thier taxes, which are far higher than in the US. The automakers save huge amounts that way. Also, keep in mind that the Canadian dollar is USD$0.82 - hourly wages are lower in Canada.
 
Someone help me - I'm trying to remember what the literacy ratio of autoworkers in the greater Detroit area is . . . (If memory serves me, they do seem to have a firm grasp of the meaning of the word, "strike", though.)
 
I've lived in Alabama for 17 years....

The problem is that the tax base is way too low, as are teacher salaries, and so there are only a few good HS's in the state and these are in the richer neighborhoods of Huntsville, Birmingham,Montgomery, etc. Many folks also send their kids to private HS's and that also degrades the quality of the education in the public schools.

I attended excellent public schools in New York (Long Island), back in the 1960's and 1970's. But my parents' property/school taxes were about $5000.00 per year in 1980, vs the $430.00 a year I currently pay in Morgan County AL - on a five acre lot!

As a point of comparison, a HS teacher in Alabama starts at about $25k a year. That was my salary right out of OTS, as a Second Lt in the USAF back in 1983....I think that's pretty sorry.

Tooslick
 
Here's another source:

quote:

Citing the high quality of the workforce in Ontario, Toyota decided to build a second plant in the Province. The financial incentives amounted to half of the amount offered by Alabama and Mississippi. According to a July Canadian Press story, a Toyota Spokesman said it had learned the lessons from Honda and Nissan which had found the workforce in Southern US to be untrained and illiteriate. In fact, trainers in Alabama had to use pictorials to teach workers how to use the equipment.

interesting editorial as well


Abstract from the original NY Times article:

quote:

Toyota, Moving Northward

By PAUL KRUGMAN (NYT) Op-Ed 757 words
Late Edition - Final , Section A , Page 19 , Column 1

ABSTRACT - Paul Krugman Op-Ed column explains Toyota's decision to build new plant in Canada rather than in United States, despite American incentives; says Toyota pointed to quality of Ontario's work force, and in fact Japanese auto companies opening plants in Southern US have been unfavorably surprised by work force's poor level of training; says Canada's other selling point is its national health insurance system, which saves auto manufacturers large sums in benefit payments compared with their costs in US (M)


password required, I think
The entire article is not archived
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Personally, I think it's more of my "jobs program" theory at work. Toyota had no problems producing vehicles anywhere with local labor. This is just a continuation of population management (think wild life managment) for aligned industrial nations. I figure that the hold capacity north of the border was reaching its limit ...so you build a factory there ..and all is well. We can't just give money away anymore ...people have to earn it.
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OH-no...both my Jeeps are made in Toledo,Ohio..anybody smart in them parts?Honestly the Canadian workers in the big three around here aren't known for Nobel prize nonminations
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It's the Government paid health care that clinches the plants.
 
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