So peugeot are to be boycotted because they moving production ?
At least they have provided employment in Britain for some years - there are many car manufacturers that have not done so.
Should we not boycott all such manufacturers before turning out attention to Peugeot ?
I certainly don't thienk 'Made in Britain' should be avoided - but neither do I actively support it (though I did when MG were owned by BMW - boy! was that expensive!)
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There have been so many jobs taken out of this country, that I wonder what next will be the new thing for Britain. Remember when call centres were the new kid on the block? Now it seems they can be run more economically from India. However, actually using a call centre in India is a different kettle of fish. If you are hard of hearing, or, like my in-laws, hard of hearing, past 80 and not too sure of yourself, any difficulty in understanding what is being said to you is not very helpful.
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The point also is that the low value jobs are going but the high value jobs are following.
With modern communication engineers, accountants, lawyers can be anywhere and are increasingly in India. The middle classes are revelling in cheap au-pairs and plumbers but they may be next...
I'll leave it there as we're way off topic now.
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The Ryton plant workers knew a couple of years ago that when the 206 was being phased out they wouldnt be getting another model to build & would be shutting down.
All these people & trade unions jumping on the SAVE RYTON bandwagon is a waste of time, Sorry its 100% going to shut, PSA Peugeot Citroen wont change there mind, The shutdown of Ryton has been planned for a few years.
Any Ryton worker who said they didnt know they would be out of a job is a fool to themself.
Shut it down, Knock it down & build loads of houses on the land.
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All this goes in cycles. When the RAF were flying out of Scampton, North of Lincon, the locals complained about the noise, fumes, extra traffic, night flying etc. When the RAF planned to close it, with the loss of 200+ local jobs, the same people were marching outside the camp with banners saying "SOS" (Save Our Scampton). There is overcapacity in car production in Europe and multinationals are going to close down any plant that is a bit long in the tooth and needs money spent on it and/or where production costs are high. It looks as though Ryton was chosen, on this basis, partly at least.
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Right - let me see if I have this correct.
You don't want me to buy a Peugeot or a Citroen.
Is that all? Don't buy a French car?
No problem.
Whoa. Wait - arf a mo, isn't SWMBO's Yaris built in France, what do I do now - or can I call it Japanese as it's a Toyota?
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Good point D. When Saab were Saab as opposed to Ford 70% of the car was made in UK but assembled in Sweden it was more British than a Ford Granada made in Germany that was sold alongside the same model made in UK.
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"When Saab were Saab as opposed to Ford...."
Read GM.
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The galling thing is that's it's much easier to fire people in the UK than it is in France (or Germany) so we get hit first.
I work for a company that employs people across Europe and when we 'downsized' the deals we had to do to get rid of people in pretty well every other country would make your eyes water. French employees with under a years service got a years salary as redundancy - and that was the starting point.
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It may be easier and cheaper to fire UK workers but it's therefore more attractive to recruit them as well. It is true that french employees have more rights but as a result of this unemployment is higher. I would not want to be a young unemployed person in France. What seems to have evaded the french is that employers have rights as well. Somewhere between the two extremes must lie the answer.
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AAAARGH!
Since the world motor industry is coalescing into huge lumps, where is a patriot or bigot to go?
At one time I thought one should favour anything European, but the whole thing is offshore these days in capital as well as technical terms.
No point in bemoaning the long demise of the British mass industry. It missed the boat in the fifties and sixties when the Europeans were investing and the Asians coming up fast on the nearside. Much too late to gnash one's teeth over that deplorable tale of greed, idleness, cynicism and stupidity.
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"Shut it down, Knock it down & build loads of houses on the land"
Who's going to buy the houses then? Just a thought.
I agree with the economic arguments. However, it's a bit harsh to blame; in the form of mass redundancies, bad management and practices solely on the workforce.
Isn't it funny how management are responsible for anything good, but if it all goes pear-shaped it's blamed on economic conditions, shifting consumer tastes, the weather in Azerbijan, in fact anything that takes away any blame from the upper part of the hierarchy.
Rant over.
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PS "People and trade unions jumping on the bandwagon"? What are trade unions composed of? Aliens?
People forget, and I am only early 30s, so don't call me a dinosaur, that trade unions exist(ed) to give workers a voice. The fact that us grasping Thatcherite brits dislike them is a mix of genuine suspicion of the more extreme actions such as seen in the 70s, plus the brainwashing of aforementioned "Ironing Lady" (as Harry Enfield's Stavros used to call her) so that we all have this ridiculous belief that we're too posh to be in a scummy trade union.
I used to work in the telecomms industry. Unions were "banned" in all but an act of law, and the vast majority of the great unwashed working there thought this was good.... despite having some of the lowest wages and salaries in the area.
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People seem to buy houses anywhere. Drive around South and Central England and in every large town there are signs pointing to "A New Development of 4 & 5 bedroom Exective Homes". I wonder myself who is buying them and where they work to fund a £300K mortgage but there are thousands being built and they seem to sell OK.
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The London property market is being funded by huge overseas investment. There is bound to be some spin off into other areas but it will all come crashing down sometime soon IMO.
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I do wonder where all this, including many UK companies falling into foreign ownership, and the ones that are left relocating their HQ to Bermuda, so all the profit disappears, ends up.
What's to become of us?
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The issue of moving HQ's is a very topical one. HMRC are putting the screws on business big time and a lot are threatening to move HQ's abroad.
Previously this was something of a hollow threat because HMRC would hit you with such a massive exit charge that it was simply economical unfeasible.
However if you moved to another EU country say Luxembourg such a charge would clearly be illegal under EU law. So as there are no exit charges from Luxembourg there is nothing to stop you moving there, squatting for a few years and then moving on to say BVI.
Watch this happen in the coming years...
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Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. Perhaps it should be GBRC (Gordon Brown's)
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Phil
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>>So much of car production is automated that I can't believe that country of manufacture makes a difference.<<
People keep saying this and it is not true. Only the dirty and dangerous stuff like welding and paint is automated.
More car makers are following the Toyota model of moving to manual build processes with a very short takt so the humans can specialise in it and understand how to improve it.
Please do NOT think that car building is automated. If it was the only cost variable would be the electricity bill and not labour costs. Car factories employ thousands of people and they do not sit around all day looking at robots.
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"if Vauxhall stop making cars in Ellesmere Port, then I would stop buying Vauxhalls"
OK, I take your point, and far be it from me to run down British made products which I try to support as much as possible but why do we get so het up about the car industry in particular and certain companies in particular. For example - anyone still got a British made TV or washing machine or fridge? Any Murphy/Ferguson/Bush (British made) Tvs or hi-fis out there?
Do Ford (American owned?) still build any cars at Dagenham? Anyone suggesting not buying Focii or Mondeos etc because they are no longer built here? So why is it suggested that we no longer buy Peugeots because they are closing Ryton? (Cits, as far as I know have not been built here since they stopped production at Slough many years (decades?) ago).
Are you no longer going to fly from Heathrow/Gatwick because some Spanish company has taken BAA over? Is your gas and electricity supplied by a French company (EDF/GDF)? If so, turn it off - oh, and your water supply? Who does that ? Is it some other French Co?
I actually find it very worrying that these things are happening but I don't see how the ordinary consumer can really have much effect by boycotting the product.
I speak as a Cit Berlingo owner (built somewhere in Spain? - wonder if the froggies are boycotting Berlingos? Or are the Germans boycotting whatever model of BMW is built in South Africa - or am I confusing that with MBs, or was it VWs, or is it VWs built in Brasil, oh no hang on that was Mexico, no it wasn't, I am confusing Renault 4s built in Brasil with VWs built in Mexico or is it the other way round)
I'm thoroughly confused, I'm going for another glass of wine, paid for on my Midland Bank credit card (Midland Bank, based in Birmingham - or is it Hong Kong? or China) Bed time I think, I'm befuddled. Damn it, bed is Swedish IKEA probably made Vietnam. At least my St George's flag is made in China.
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Phil
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>>why do we get so het up about the car industry in particular...
Well, it is fairly high on the list of most expensive purchases for most people after, of course, they've mortgaged their children, pawned their high teeth, and sold a limb or two in order to buy a house!
At least you know where your malt is made Phil!
Cheers,
Number_Cruncher
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"At least you know where your malt is made Phil"
Thanks NC, forgotten about that, now, just finish this red stuff and the McAllan (excuse spelling), no maybe the Bowmore Surf, hang on a mo, that sweet tasting Cardhu might be more appropriate for this time of night, or maybe.... oh hang it, try them all see which is best!! Night night, sweet dreams!!!
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Phil
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Hey Philw dont worry mate its a global village.
Wait a minute. That makes it a hellava big village? what does that damn phrase mean anyway!
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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"Shut it down, Knock it down & build loads of houses on the land"
That sounds like yet another acerbic remark. Would the houses be built to live in, or to create jobs for builders? Surely when Ryton closes, fewer houses will be needed, not more?
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On a lighter note than yesterday's political rants (I'm on a detox at the moment it's making me angry!) I liked Thommo's comment: "The middle classes are revelling in cheap au-pairs and plumbers but they may be next..."
I've never revelled in a cheap au-pair. Where do I sign up?
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Well if its anything like the Orange or Toffee Revel you can count me out.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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On a lighter note than yesterday's political rants (I'm on a detox at the moment it's making me angry!) I liked Thommo's comment: "The middle classes are revelling in cheap au-pairs and plumbers but they may be next..." I've never revelled in a cheap au-pair. Where do I sign up?
Before you are allowed to do that, you first have to revel in the cheap plumber ...
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