Motor firms march East
WORKERS, APR 2006 ISSUE
The transfer of vehicle production from the US, Western Europe and the UK to Eastern Europe and Asia seems set to accelerate. As much as the "free movement of labour" from Eastern Europe into Western Europe and specifically the UK is about driving down wages here, the transfer of production to the East is about exploiting cheap labour, production and raw materials there.
Peugeot's Coventry plant, with 2,200 jobs, is under threat, as the old 206 model is in direct competition with a brand new plant in Slovakia building the new 207 model. The Vauxhall Ellesmere Port Plant, with 2,900 jobs, is now under threat from cheap labour and new production in East Germany. Wages are estimated to be 80% lower in new plants in Russia, Poland and Turkey. There are no trade unions, no pensions, no health and safety and no limits to productivity, working hours or rapacious work practices.
General Motors is axing 12,000 jobs in Europe and 30,000 in the US, and now looking to Korea, Thailand, Mexico and China. Toyota wants to relocate to the Czech Republic, Russia and Turkey. Volkswagen is axing 20,000 German jobs and relocating to Slovakia. Mercedes is losing 12,000 jobs but remaining put for the time being. Hyundai and Kai are relocating to Czech and Slovakia plants. Ford are shedding 30,000 US jobs and are shifting production to Russia. Just as US militarists use the term military "footprint" to justify intervention across the world, the vehicle manufacturers now refer to their economic footprint to justify their march across the world in the pursuit of profit.