Link to the article

Hi Everyone,

Here a link to a good article that illustrates some implications of globalization movement – destruction of manufacturing jobs in the United States. The article describes two manufacturing companies (Stanley Furniture Co. & Chesapeake Bay Candle) that have struggled when they moved their manufacturing operations back to the United States. Specifically, both companies suffered financially due to a difficulty finding and retaining skilled workers in the US and problems with suppliers who have shifted most of their attention to exporting American-grown hardwoods to furniture factories in the Far East.

According to Ms. Xu from Chesapeake Bay, “We have people struggling with math,” she says. “Not middle-school math, elementary-school math. And this includes the supervisors—not just the line workers.”

In addition, consumers are no longer willing to pay a hefty premium for American-made products and cheaper imports are preferred. Although I strongly support globalization movement, it’s troubling that small businesses that want to bring their operations back home get crushed by this globalization force. It seems that the globalization trend has completely destroyed manufacturing sector, which is unlikely to be reversed, in the United States.

Jacob

http://online.wsj.com/articles/bringing-jobs-back-to-u-s-is-bruising-task-1403746208?mod=WSJ_hppMIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond