Ford in the USA?

It’s pretty interesting that Mexico is actually manufacturing for General Motors. It really puts those tired old stereotypes about North American people into perspective, doesn't it?
The real issue with Americans—and I mean specifically this group, not all North American people—is just a lack of entrepreneurial spirit. I mean, how can anyone expect serious investment in a country where being an entrepreneur is practically treated like a crime?

George Ortiz15 said:The government, local officials, and every single politician from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party are all scrambling to figure out how to send an invoice for corporate taxes. Meanwhile, opportunities like this just sail right past us...

I’d give Ford five years of free electricity before I’d ever let Exelon hand out handouts to Liverpool FC, Real Madrid, the Golden State Warriors, or the Boston Celtics. Not that any of those athletes have actually created even five real manufacturing jobs—unless you count opening coffee shops and pouring concrete...

Let's actually help our lobbyists come up with some real ideas to lure Ford into the USA!

A word to the federal and local governments: take what little life we have left and spend it on RECOVERY, not on euthanasia.!!!!!!

That bit about the guys across the border is pretty interesting... makes you wonder if what they're saying about Fiat is actually true.

Bringing a company like this in would teach people a lesson in technical culture and respecting expertise. It's worth paying them; it's a much better bet than sinking money into some highway or airport project just so a few buddies and their shell companies can make a quick buck...

Of course, General Motors is now a major driver of development in Mexico. Every single day, two trains loaded with cars head out from Detroit for export. The plant was designed for 300,000 units, and they're currently hitting 200,000, with daily production at 480 cars across two shifts. They're even planning a third shift next month to ramp things up further.
The benefits are pretty multifaceted: worker training and employment, narrowing the trade deficit, bringing in secondary suppliers, infrastructure growth, expanding production lines, and implementing high-level automation and computerization.
General Motors has also teamed up with local colleges and vocational schools, even helping out with training equipment. For instance, the local technical school received mini-robots for training that are basically clones of the ones used on the actual assembly line.
At first, there was a lot of pushback about giving General Motors too many incentives—like $10,000 per worker and ten years of tax breaks—but ever since production actually kicked into gear, nobody seems to care about those initial complaints anymore.

Linda Roberts2 said:Of course, General Motors is now a major driver of development in Mexico. Every single day, two trains loaded with cars head out from Detroit for export. The plant was designed for 300,000 units, and they're currently hitting 200,000, with daily production at 480 cars across two shifts. They're even planning a third shift next month to ramp things up further.
The benefits are pretty multifaceted: worker training and employment, narrowing the trade deficit, bringing in secondary suppliers, infrastructure growth, expanding production lines, and implementing high-level automation and computerization.
General Motors has also teamed up with local colleges and vocational schools, even helping out with training equipment. For instance, the local technical school received mini-robots for training that are basically clones of the ones used on the actual assembly line.
At first, there was a lot of pushback about giving General Motors too many incentives—like $10,000 per worker and ten years of tax breaks—but ever since production actually kicked into gear, nobody seems to care about those initial complaints anymore.

In America, this would be unthinkable. If General Motors offered us that deal, the locals, the schools, everyone would just tell them to get lost. Seriously, props to the Mexicans for pulling this off.

Since everyone and their mother seems to be chiming in based on some random rumor they overheard at a local dive bar about salaries starting from... $1000And here we are—those of us working in automation and robotics—completely irrelevant to these kinds of data sets. Anyway, here’s some numbers and what those collective bargaining agreements actually look like...

Looks like Volkswagen is moving in on the Slovak market. They’re adding more models to the lineup there, basically stepping up their game to compete with the local players. It’s a smart move—expanding the footprint where they already have some traction. Expect to see more of these hitting the streets soon.

The average price of eco-friendly stocks is looking pretty shaky right now. If you were counting on green energy to carry your portfolio through the year, you might want to check your math. It’s a rough patch for anyone betting big on sustainability plays.

The auto industry is hitting a wall. Recent reports suggest massive layoffs are looming across the sector. It’s not just rumors anymore—companies are actually pulling the trigger. We're looking at a serious contraction, much like what happened during the big downturns in the past. It feels like the shift toward EVs is hitting the traditional manufacturing hubs harder than anyone expected. Just watch, more red flags are coming.

I can't access that specific link, but if you paste the text here, I'll get to work rewriting it. Just give me the raw content and I'll transform it into my usual style—short, punchy, and strictly American.

Analysts are sounding the alarm on the current economic outlook. It’s looking pretty shaky, and they aren't pulling any punches about the potential fallout. Basically, the experts think we might be heading toward a rough patch sooner rather than later. It’s like watching a storm cloud roll in over the Midwest—you can see it coming, and there isn't much anyone can do but brace for impact.

Hyundai is finally making moves with their new lineup. It looks like they're trying to shake things up in the market, much like how Ford handles their mid-range stuff. They aren't just playing it safe anymore; there’s a clear push to compete with the big players. It’s an interesting pivot to watch.

Look, you’re looking at maybe a few hundred bucks at Hyundai, but once you hit the German brands like BMW, you’re easily clearing $3,000. Just do the math.

Look at food prices and rent, and it’s pretty obvious why they're heading our way instead of the other way around.

So, you’re looking at anywhere from $600 to $700, maybe even pushing $1,000 or $1,300 if you've got a German boss on the payroll. If we take the average exchange rate... $2.50 Not sure how this works. $1000....


Obviously, it all depends on who’s pulling the strings.

What’s the typical pay for someone with a master's degree working in a school?
It’s anywhere from $4k to $5k depending on seniority, and honestly, these volunteers aren't worth the paper they're written on.

What's the typical pay for retail work these days?
2600-3200
How many doctors aren't on call?
6000-7000

Maintenance managers at private firms out in the Sun Belt? You're looking at $6k to $8k, and they’re expected to be on call 24/7.

It doesn't really matter if Ford decides to set up shop here or not. What matters is what we’re doing right now to actually create jobs—and more importantly, how we're making sure those positions stay protected from every angle. At the end of the day, it all comes down to whether we can actually keep the talent here.

The absolute worst kind of ignorance is when you actually think you know what you're talking about. Doesn't matter if he had ten degrees to his name.

Relying on our media and politicians is exactly how we ended up in this mess.

George Ortiz15 said:Since everyone and their mother seems to be chiming in based on some random rumor they overheard at a local dive bar about salaries starting from... $1000And here we are—those of us working in automation and robotics—completely irrelevant to these kinds of data sets. Anyway, here’s some numbers and what those collective bargaining agreements actually look like...

Looks like Volkswagen is moving in on the Slovak market. They’re adding more models to the lineup there, basically stepping up their game to compete with the local players. It’s a smart move—expanding the footprint where they already have some traction. Expect to see more of these hitting the streets soon.

The average price of eco-friendly stocks is looking pretty shaky right now. If you were counting on green energy to carry your portfolio through the year, you might want to check your math. It’s a rough patch for anyone betting big on sustainability plays.

The auto industry is hitting a wall. Recent reports suggest massive layoffs are looming across the sector. It’s not just rumors anymore—companies are actually pulling the trigger. We're looking at a serious contraction, much like what happened during the big downturns in the past. It feels like the shift toward EVs is hitting the traditional manufacturing hubs harder than anyone expected. Just watch, more red flags are coming.

I can't access that specific link, but if you paste the text here, I'll get to work rewriting it. Just give me the raw content and I'll transform it into my usual style—short, punchy, and strictly American.

Analysts are sounding the alarm on the current economic outlook. It’s looking pretty shaky, and they aren't pulling any punches about the potential fallout. Basically, the experts think we might be heading toward a rough patch sooner rather than later. It’s like watching a storm cloud roll in over the Midwest—you can see it coming, and there isn't much anyone can do but brace for impact.

Hyundai is finally making moves with their new lineup. It looks like they're trying to shake things up in the market, much like how Ford handles their mid-range stuff. They aren't just playing it safe anymore; there’s a clear push to compete with the big players. It’s an interesting pivot to watch.

Look, you’re looking at maybe a few hundred bucks at Hyundai, but once you hit the German brands like BMW, you’re easily clearing $3,000. Just do the math.

Look at food prices and rent, and it’s pretty obvious why they're heading our way instead of the other way around.

So, you’re looking at anywhere from $600 to $700, maybe even pushing $1,000 or $1,300 if you've got a German boss on the payroll. If we take the average exchange rate... $2.50 Not sure how this works. $1000....


Obviously, it all depends on who’s pulling the strings.

What’s the typical pay for someone with a master's degree working in a school?
It’s anywhere from $4k to $5k depending on seniority, and honestly, these volunteers aren't worth the paper they're written on.

What's the typical pay for retail work these days?
2600-3200
How many doctors aren't on call?
6000-7000

Maintenance managers at private firms out in the Sun Belt? You're looking at $6k to $8k, and they’re expected to be on call 24/7.

It doesn't really matter if Ford decides to set up shop here or not. What matters is what we’re doing right now to actually create jobs—and more importantly, how we're making sure those positions stay protected from every angle. At the end of the day, it all comes down to whether we can actually keep the talent here.

The absolute worst kind of ignorance is when you actually think you know what you're talking about. Doesn't matter if he had ten degrees to his name.

Relying on our media and politicians is exactly how we ended up in this mess.

Look, colleague,

You’ve got a point, but there’s something even worse that I see our politicians pull all the time, and that is spin.

For example, "spin" is when some guy on a forum disagrees with me and brings up facts that have absolutely nothing to do with what I actually wrote...

So, if you look at my posts, I started by comparing a General Motors plant and their wages in Mexico, then I brought up how much workers in auto plants across Eastern Europe make, and later we moved the conversation toward Slovakia.

I don't know if you paid attention in geography class, but the Czech Republic isn't Slovakia or Mexico; it's a more developed country with a higher standard of living than those places...

Furthermore, let me warn you that it's also considered spin when you present data without mentioning that it applies to everyone except management—meaning it includes people with Master's degrees too.😉

I know you aren't one of those malicious types on these forums, so I'll just chalk this up to a simple lack of knowledge on your part...

Best, Amanda Diaz

Amanda Diaz said:Look, colleague,

You’ve got a point, but there’s something even worse that I see our politicians pull all the time, and that is spin.

For example, "spin" is when some guy on a forum disagrees with me and brings up facts that have absolutely nothing to do with what I actually wrote...

So, if you look at my posts, I started by comparing a General Motors plant and their wages in Mexico, then I brought up how much workers in auto plants across Eastern Europe make, and later we moved the conversation toward Slovakia.

I don't know if you paid attention in geography class, but the Czech Republic isn't Slovakia or Mexico; it's a more developed country with a higher standard of living than those places...

Furthermore, let me warn you that it's also considered spin when you present data without mentioning that it applies to everyone except management—meaning it includes people with Master's degrees too.😉

I know you aren't one of those malicious types on these forums, so I'll just chalk this up to a simple lack of knowledge on your part...

Best, Amanda Diaz

Hey,

here's a little something regarding countries in Eastern Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europe

And you mentioned some different car brands that weren't part of this; we were talking about Ford, if I recall correctly...

I don't think you're trying to be malicious either; you aren't really spinning anything...

At the end of the day, wages don't even matter if a huge chunk of the population doesn't have jobs to begin with...

Southeast European countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Europe

And Central European countries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Europe

But we could always start a thread about where we fit in, and
after that, it might be worth starting a discussion on the industrial divisions of Europe...

Justin Patel8 said:It’s pretty interesting that Mexico is actually manufacturing for General Motors. It really puts those tired old stereotypes about North American people into perspective, doesn't it?
The real issue with Americans—and I mean specifically this group, not all North American people—is just a lack of entrepreneurial spirit. I mean, how can anyone expect serious investment in a country where being an entrepreneur is practically treated like a crime?

Good question...

Linda Roberts2 said:Of course, General Motors is now a major driver of development in Mexico. Every single day, two trains loaded with cars head out from Detroit for export. The plant was designed for 300,000 units, and they're currently hitting 200,000, with daily production at 480 cars across two shifts. They're even planning a third shift next month to ramp things up further.
The benefits are pretty multifaceted: worker training and employment, narrowing the trade deficit, bringing in secondary suppliers, infrastructure growth, expanding production lines, and implementing high-level automation and computerization.
General Motors has also teamed up with local colleges and vocational schools, even helping out with training equipment. For instance, the local technical school received mini-robots for training that are basically clones of the ones used on the actual assembly line.
At first, there was a lot of pushback about giving General Motors too many incentives—like $10,000 per worker and ten years of tax breaks—but ever since production actually kicked into gear, nobody seems to care about those initial complaints anymore.

It’s easy to talk about tying small businesses to industry when there’s actually something substantial for American entrepreneurs to latch onto.

And it's easy to train people when they actually have access to hands-on experience...

At the end of the day, that's how you build real competition. American business owners will be forced to respect collective bargaining agreements just to keep from losing their best talent to the big players.

Linda Roberts2 said:Of course, General Motors is now a major driver of development in Mexico. Every single day, two trains loaded with cars head out from Detroit for export. The plant was designed for 300,000 units, and they're currently hitting 200,000, with daily production at 480 cars across two shifts. They're even planning a third shift next month to ramp things up further.
The benefits are pretty multifaceted: worker training and employment, narrowing the trade deficit, bringing in secondary suppliers, infrastructure growth, expanding production lines, and implementing high-level automation and computerization.
General Motors has also teamed up with local colleges and vocational schools, even helping out with training equipment. For instance, the local technical school received mini-robots for training that are basically clones of the ones used on the actual assembly line.
At first, there was a lot of pushback about giving General Motors too many incentives—like $10,000 per worker and ten years of tax breaks—but ever since production actually kicked into gear, nobody seems to care about those initial complaints anymore.

Oh sure, everything is just sunshine and rainbows according to you.
I wouldn't even be posting this if I didn't think people needed to see the other side of the coin.

Oh yeah, Mexico also dumped 700 million Euros into this General Motors project. I am dying to know exactly when they'll see a return on that investment, and more importantly, what kind of shady details are buried in that secret contract?

In Canada at the General Motors plant, the minimum wage is around $650-$750.
I mean, I don't think a country dealing with 450,000 unemployed people should just be turning away a Ford factory like that.
Honestly, seeing some of the stuff people are posting here, maybe it’s better if Ford just looks elsewhere—somewhere they'll actually appreciate them.
What are we even expecting? A bunch of executive roles opening up, or getting a government job through some family connection, or something like that?

There’s zero chance anyone’s opening a factory in America.
Every investor saw exactly what happened when 3M set up shop here and how they got played—nobody’s crazy enough to start building a new plant in this country ever again.

Almost every single country that recently joined the European Union has its own automotive industry. When you combine that with the electronics sector, it becomes a massive engine for economic growth. So, I don't think the real debate should be about whether we need to attract manufacturers, but rather figuring out the best way to actually make it happen.

Jack Ward5 said:Oh sure, everything is just sunshine and rainbows according to you.
I wouldn't even be posting this if I didn't think people needed to see the other side of the coin.

Oh yeah, Mexico also dumped 700 million Euros into this General Motors project. I am dying to know exactly when they'll see a return on that investment, and more importantly, what kind of shady details are buried in that secret contract?

General Motors just started production in Mexico, so it’ll probably take at least three years before things actually stabilize. For a small country like Mexico, it’s actually a pretty big deal. Even with only half their capacity being used, they’re already the biggest exporter and private employer there. Maybe America should look into bringing a manufacturer into the Midwest, since it’s so close to the suppliers up North. We have our own ports too, which means better logistics than Detroit, where they haven't even finished their highway systems yet.

The US is dealing with some serious energy shortages—we're talking about basic electricity here!
And honestly, that’s pretty much the baseline requirement if you want to get anything moving at all in this country.
On the flip side, our neighbors over in Mexico are absolutely crushing it in that department compared to us.
The Slovaks have plenty too!

nimblescout50 said:The US is dealing with some serious energy shortages—we're talking about basic electricity here!
And honestly, that’s pretty much the baseline requirement if you want to get anything moving at all in this country.
On the flip side, our neighbors over in Mexico are absolutely crushing it in that department compared to us.
The Slovaks have plenty too!

I don't think that's really the deciding factor here.
Americans can be a bit arrogant sometimes; for instance, our Prime Minister wouldn't even sit down with the CEO of ExxonMobil, which is easily one of the most powerful companies on the planet.
But if you ask me, the hardest part is actually attracting the Japanese. They always seem to come with about 107 different conditions before they'll agree to anything.

Linda Roberts2 said:I don't think that's really the deciding factor here.
Americans can be a bit arrogant sometimes; for instance, our Prime Minister wouldn't even sit down with the CEO of ExxonMobil, which is easily one of the most powerful companies on the planet.
But if you ask me, the hardest part is actually attracting the Japanese. They always seem to come with about 107 different conditions before they'll agree to anything.

Ha, I'm not quite that optimistic!
The only way I'd agree is if we're talking about just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Linda Roberts2 said:I don't think that's really the deciding factor here.
Americans can be a bit arrogant sometimes; for instance, our Prime Minister wouldn't even sit down with the CEO of ExxonMobil, which is easily one of the most powerful companies on the planet.
But if you ask me, the hardest part is actually attracting the Japanese. They always seem to come with about 107 different conditions before they'll agree to anything.

Well, let them try walking into a local construction firm in Zadar. I guarantee you the foreman there—who’s basically a bricklayer by trade—will lay out about 107 conditions of his own just to get them through the door. 😢😲😁

nimblescout50 said:The US is dealing with some serious energy shortages—we're talking about basic electricity here!
And honestly, that’s pretty much the baseline requirement if you want to get anything moving at all in this country.
On the flip side, our neighbors over in Mexico are absolutely crushing it in that department compared to us.
The Slovaks have plenty too!

America suffers from a lack of common sense, respect, and basic culture; Americans can be incredibly arrogant, greedy, envious, and malicious, to say nothing more..
They spit on the Mexican language while driving their Fiats, and honestly, no American would be happier than to see them fail...
Let's get real—we aren't even in the same league as Mexico, so just accept that once and for all, it'll make life easier...

nimblescout50 said:Ha, I'm not quite that optimistic!
The only way I'd agree is if we're talking about just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

Honestly, trying to hire anyone these days feels like an uphill battle. It seems like everyone is desperate for talent—Canadians are looking for more staff, and the same goes for Mexicans. Even the Canadians were willing to throw €12,000 per worker at Mercedes just to get them on board. Meanwhile, the Bulgarians are constantly complaining because they can't land someone, and then you've got the Czechs and Slovaks who already have their entire supply chain practically sitting right next door.

Linda Roberts2 said:Honestly, trying to hire anyone these days feels like an uphill battle. It seems like everyone is desperate for talent—Canadians are looking for more staff, and the same goes for Mexicans. Even the Canadians were willing to throw €12,000 per worker at Mercedes just to get them on board. Meanwhile, the Bulgarians are constantly complaining because they can't land someone, and then you've got the Czechs and Slovaks who already have their entire supply chain practically sitting right next door.

If Mercedes-Benz actually intends to build a plant here in Rhode Island, they ought to be handing the government $13,000 per worker themselves.😢😲😁