Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_dux
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All the Japanese auto makers are cutting jobs. For example, Nissan is letting go of all it's contract (= temporary/seasonal) employees. That's Nissan in Japan. I don't know what they're doing in the US and elsewhere, but in general, they are cutting more in the US because for the moment, the depression is worse in the West.
-----Added 20/12/2008 at 12 : 08 : 13-----
Quote:
Originally Posted by roachboy
the second area is in the adaptation of just in time to supply chain development, which accelerated the fragmentation of the manufacturing process. in general, where the old american model relied on economies of scale linked to long production runs for profit, toyota opts for flexibility in production linked to tight controls on pricing and quality and timing of suppliers and the products that they deliver---so suppliers end up absorbing costs that would otherwise have been associated with production.
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Right. So for the economy as a whole, there is in fact a net loss. It's just that those costs are held at arm's length from the big guy. It's a net loss because just-in-time is pretty wasteful when you get down to it, particularly in transportation/energy expenditures. But it could be worse than it is in Japan, where industries are spatially located in a semi-rational manner and where the transportation infrastructure is much more efficient than in it is in the US.