There is a single well crafted line used time and again by marketing gurus to downplay the negatives in press releases like the one Ford issued this week. When announcing the change in production, the auto giant said “there will be zero job losses in the U.S. as a result of the new plant in Mexico. The Wayne, Michigan, plant that now builds the Focus and C-Max that will move to Mexico will instead start building other models -- probably the new Ford Bronco SUV and Ranger small pickup.” The same three words are always in the first few sentenc- es of these well spun press releases. Those words are “zero job losses.” There was a time, not long ago, when announcements like bringing back the Bronco and Ranger meant growth in the workforce at existing plants and even new production lines in Canada. In this out migration of good jobs Americans now find hope and comfort in the status quo and the use of words like “probably” the Bronco line will return. Ironically, Ford has never stopped making the Ranger which is currently built in South Africa, Argentina, Thailand and Nigeria for nearly 200 overseas markets. Ford has chosen not to import the truck to the U.S. partially because of a 25-percent tariff on foreign-built pickups. It is known as the “chicken tax.” which got its name in the 1960’s because of a German tariff on chicken. The response to that was a tariff on cars. Ironically it is the same type of move Donald Trump promises to repeat on Ford or any company that moves manufacturing from the U.S. to Mexico, Canada or any other country. The “zero job losses” phrase is a finely crafted spin line created by the best branding companies money can buy. The phrase is meant to calm the nerves of U.S. consumers. By
stressing no job losses marketers know many people assume that means the company making these cars won’t be laying off American workers and that our family, friends and neigh- bors that work for these companies will not lose theirs. These manufacturing positions represent the backbone of a U.S. blue collar workforce starving for positive news versus more stories about an industry off shoring production and jobs. We do not mean to pick on Ford as they are not alone. Microsoft, 3M, and Google make the endless list of companies chasing cheap labor at the expense of the American worker. This is also not just a U.S. problem as the same is seen in Canada with companies like Magna, Bombardier, Scotiabank, and Transcanada all doing signif- icant work in Mexico. Whether it is in the U.S. or Canada these companies are shipping their manufacturing out in order to lower their costs while continuing to hold the line on consumer prices and profile margin. The problem with all this feel good marketing spin on greed and the relocation of profit by these companies has made a business and economic model that is very serious- ly flawed for future growth and sustainability. These com- panies want to send production elsewhere in the chase for a cheap labour workforce, but they still expect Canadians and Americans to have enough disposable income to buy their goods. See the problem. They do not want to be the employers issuing paychecks permitting consumers to afford a $50,000 truck, $15,000 off road vehicle or that
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OCTOBER 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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