Thousands of American companies that have moved production to China to take advantage of cheap labor might want to consider a case study that is unfolding for a U.S. manufacturing company. Fellowes Inc., one of the world's largest makers of office and personal paper shredders, is witnessing the destruction of its business, as its large Chinese manufacturing plant has been shut down by its joint venture manufacturing partner.
The company's Chinese joint venture firm has barred 1,600 employees from entering the plant, stolen all of its proprietary manufacturing production equipment and forced the venture into bankruptcy. The contracts Fellowes signed with its Chinese production company meant nothing. For Fellowes, there is no such thing as rule of law in China.
"THEY AREN'T OUR FRIENDS"
h/t "BUBBA"
Um... probably NOT so well... People, amazingly enough, seem to think US rule of law applies in all these countries, which of course it doesn't. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteI am certainly against out-sourcing, especially to the PRC, but the issue for many companies isn't simply cheap labor, it's freedom from the obscene panoply of regulations thrown at business and manufacturing by our government bureaucracies. For that, I am sympathetic with companies that move at least their production off-shore.
ReplyDeleteDamned if you do, damned if you don't. As RegT noted, companies can suffer the death of a thousand cuts in the US, or risk having a big spear shoved up their profit And loSS statement. The ruling elites everywhere are (mostly) myopic, self-centered, apres-moi-le-deluge types whose only concern is holding on to their present power and wealth, with little if any thought for their future. And none at all for ours.
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