In its biggest foreign market, BMW gets skilled workers for less(U.S.)

[RamboLiberal]

GREER, S.C. - When German automaker BMW put out the call recently to hire a thousand factory workers here, the people who responded reflected the upheaval occurring in the U.S. economy.

Among the applicants: a former manager of a major distribution center for Target; a consultant who oversaw construction projects in four Western states; a supervisor at a plastics recycling firm. Some held college degrees and resumes in other fields where they made more money.

But they're all in the factory now making $15 an hour - about half of what the typical German autoworker makes.

The trade debate in the United States usually focuses on the jobs lost to factories in the developing world. But the recession has forced countless skilled workers in this country to consider jobs they would have rejected in the past. They now offer foreign manufacturers a resource that was far less common just a few years ago: cheaper wages for better talent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/26/AR2010102607165.html?hpid=topnews

[dkf]

1. Maybe they will outsource German jobs to the US.

How ironic

[thetonka]

2. And if the economy recovers

and the competition goes from jobs to employees the workers who are currently happy with a $15 an hour job will expect more pay or leave.

[COLGATE4]

3. Remains to be seen if the quality remains top-notch or declines

in the US manufactured cars.

[guruoo]

4. Mercedes learned that lesson the hard way during their merger w/Chrysler

Mercedes SL:


And the "Americanized" version, the Chrysler Crossfire:

[handmade34]

5. their plan is working perfectly

a sad day indeed