It's been announced today that Peugeot will close it's massive Ryton plant on the outskirts of Coventry in a years time. The news has not come as a shock, because PSA had refused to earmark any more investment. Last year we saw the demise of MG Rover in nearby Birmingham and the closure of the Browns Lane Jaguar plant in Coventry.The massive motor industry in Coventry has just been dealt another nail in it's coffin and is another example of the effects of globalization. At one time it was British companies that made cars at this plant in Ryton and then PSA bought out Talbot in the late 1970's and even after millions of pounds of Government handouts to keep production in Britain - it is the end of an era for the 1939 car plant. Production is moving to Eastern Europe, where it is cheaper to produce models.
Over the past year or two Peugeot has cut shift numbers down in a general wind-down in Coventry, so the loss of 2,300 jobs doesn't seem as bad yet it's 1% of Coventry's population who will have to find a new career. This will have a devastating effects on the local economy.
The Humber and Hillman were models that had been previously produced at this factory and it's another example of Britain becoming weak in Europe. This would not have happened in France!
A bad day for the people living here........................
Bad news for Coventry; how naff.
ReplyDeletePeople think that would benefit from Globlisation, and only those in the "3rd world" (i hate that term) would suffer...yet it affects everyone in some way
do i even make sense?!
I know what you mean, people like farmers or cotton growers in the "third world" suffer from price deflation because of the large global retail players and now we're starting to see multinational companies pulling out of the UK (and France,Germany etc)and transfering to Eastern Europe or Asia. The main reasons seem to be costs and the red tape in Western Europe.
ReplyDeletePeugeot will be moving to Eastern Europe and they are not the last, but part of a growing trend.
It's the replacement jobs that fill the gaps that leaves me worried. Jobs in the service industry pay peanuts when you compare the two sectors. The loss of 2,300 jobs means less spending power and a poorer community.
As you can see - I am not a hugh fan of globalization!
Globalization is a fact now. The effects will be felted in the 1st and 3rd world almost in the same way. THe problem is that we see the consequences before the benefits.
ReplyDeleteBye.
I don't agree, while some will benifit. Those whose standards of living decline will not benifit.
ReplyDeleteGlobalization is more likely to lead to poorer working conditions (for those in the "1st world") and greater control over workers for the global players in business.
Those who live in "poorer" countries will benifit in the short term, until the companies move on to the next cheaper country.
All of this effects those communities where jobs are lost.
As you can see, I feel quite passionate about this subject. Mainly because examples like this go un-noticed but when added up one by one - our community and standard of life is being pulled apart.
Globalization is a market trend and defies any qualitative judgement. Good or bad, it's happening and a smart player acknowledged this and makes the necessary adjustments to equip himself to meet this new reality.
ReplyDelete......and sadly people are just a cost that needs to be reduced.
ReplyDeleteIf making the "necessary adjustments" means a poorer quality of life at the expense of greedy corporations then it's a sad state of affairs.
Globalization is here to stay, it's a fact but maybe there will come a time when those that suffer at the hands of a globalised market will see there is another way.
America will see a real big change in the coming years, just like Western Europe is seeing now.