drunk7daysaweek

Toyota declares Americans too stupid for factory work

"Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate – workforce"

wow.

mod edit: inserting full text from link...

Toyota Corporation has recently announced that their next plant will not open in America, contrary Arnold Swarchenegger’s strong bid on behalf of California. Instead, Toyota will develop its monster 1,000-acre plant north of the border in Woodstock, Canada. The announcement, made last week, comes as a shocking blow to America’s already fragile economy as the plant is expected to create upward of 25,000 jobs by 2008.
The reason Toyota decided to set up shop in Canada, rather than use the cost-saving pre-built Fresno location? The American workforce is too stupid.

While Toyota spokesperson John Yarinoshi says ‘stupid’ may be too harsh a word, he claims it’s not too far off. “Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate – workforce,” explains Yarinoshi. “In Alabama, trainers had to use ‘pictorials’ to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment. Can you imagine having to train 25% of your employees to read, let alone operate complicated multi-million dollar machinery? Why you think GM and Ford fail?”


American literacy rates are the lowest in the Western Hemisphere at 67%, not much better than Angola’s 63% literacy rate. But reading and writing ability are the least important of their concerns, according to Yarinoshi. “Yes, they are not the most efficient, productive workforce, but that alone I could live with. It’s the unions and the ludicrous demands from such a lazy lot that have really angered top execs in the company. How can someone demand $55,000 a year for putting bolts on wheels – and requiring 2.5 years (of company paid) training for the job at that!”

Toyota is expecting much better results from the Canadians, whom are known for their conservative, business-friendly policies, anti-unionist mentality, and their willingness to work for slave wages. “Canadians don’t care, they’re given a job and they do it. Pay is the least of their concern, as they’re happy to work, not like the socialist minded American workers.”

Toyota’s decision took the country by surprise, and even though it’s angered many Americans, Toyota expects to keep its market share. Ron Harding disagrees. “Here’s another example of corporate greed at it’s finest. They’re exploiting Canadians for their cheap labor, but who’s going to buy their product? Not me. I don’t have a job or a license, how can I afford it? And even if they did open up a plant here, I wouldn’t want to work for the fascist pricks anyway.”

Harding claims that it’s proof that the Bush administration is sleeping with the corporate enemy. “Here we have comparable literacy rates to Africa, and instead of educating our own people the government sends billions over to Live-8 and to Africa, to pay for their cell phones and Wal-Mart satellite stores. We’ve got to wake up, get off our fat asses and make these bastards hear us. We can’t idly sit by and watch Canadians and Africans steal our jobs and consumer products.”

But I guess sitting idly by watching Oprah, well, that’s a different story.

dom

Canadian auto plants have been known for quality. The Buick plant up here seems to win awards year after year.

As for slave wages. No idea what non-unionized plant workers up here are making? Unionized workers are making at least $30 an hour.

FastAcura

"And even if they did open up a plant here, I wouldn’t want to work for the fascist pricks anyway.”

G

Unfortunatley, I wouldn't say that it is that far from the truth.

Ok, maybe not stupid, but just damn lazy.

fdl

and fat

G

and greedy
and ignorant
the list goes on.

sipark

I was thinking "What's so hard about having 'ability to read' as a job requirement?"...

Then I finished reading the article. UNION

scl23

Unions are digging their own graves. They should be working to improve their members instead of fighting to save the worst of the bunch. Unions are unfortunately run by the fat lazy mafia types instead of people who want to have the best benefits for the best work force.

runnerX

couldn't agree more with the article. Union ppl are killing themselves and the company. GM, Ford, and DC could make better cars if it wasn't their union. How can one expect quality work or quality design from those lazy union workers? these people automatically get raise annually without working hard to earn it. I just feel sorry for those companies. Unions are draging US economy down cuz their products are not competitive at all.

G

The employees are killing themselves.

quantmonkey

You do realize the article is a joke right?

G

I wish it wasn't.

FastAcura

Looks kinda real to me.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050630/b0630102.html

drunk7daysaweek

I agree. Union = high pay demands + unmotivated workers

afici0nad0

i don't know about this article, some of the language, to me, makes it seem as if the article was totally fabricated.

but, it is true that toyota is building a plant in ontario, canada.

whether John Yarinoshi actually said, "Canadians don’t care, they’re given a job and they do it. Pay is the least of their concern, as they’re happy to work, not like the socialist minded American workers” is debatable for me.

there are a lot of unions in canada...

Shawn S

Stupid….NO
Greedy and lazy…YES

fdl

ya, it doesnt sound like a serious article to me. more like some blog rant. The comment on Canada is complete bs anyways, ...if anything Canadians are the socialists.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

cob3683

100%

GreenMonster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_illiteracy

In the USA, according to Nation's Business magazine, an estimated 15 million adults holding jobs at the beginning of the 21st century were functionally illiterate. The American Council of Life Insurance reported that 75 percent of the Fortune 500 companies provide some level of remedial training for their workers.

A Literacy at Work Study published by the Northeast Institute in 2001 found that business losses attributed to basic skill deficiencies run into billions of dollars a year because of low productivity, errors and accidents attributed to functional illiteracy.

Yumcha

Put it this way, would you want a bunch of Homers in your factory?

youngTL

What I don't understand is how anyone can be illiterate (barring some sort of disability)? The school system teaches everyone how to read fully by about grade 6.

sipark

habla espanol?

zeroday

stupidity is the root cause. this all boils down to stupidity. only stupid people seem to be reproducing at a rapid pace hence the problem.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Well, when you're too dumb to do anything useful, you tend to stay at home and fuck

SeCsTaC

The hecks a union? A bunch of workers together?

srika

yeah that first link is totally not something what a Toyota spokesman would have said... it is BASED on a real story but the words have been made up.... the 2nd link is the actual story.

sorry but no Toyota spokesman is gonna say:

lol...

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

http://www.afl-cio.org

Read up.

rezurex

hmmm.... quite profound.

F23A4

....and with those workers together being the bricks, consider organized criminal organizations as the mortar.

jdone

This is self-serving BS of the highest order. All of your Camry and Avalon models are assembled here in Kentucky and the quality is excellent. The real reason the new plant is going to Canada is the same reason as always, money. Even if the Canadians are paid the same (hint, they ain't) the so-called "legacy" costs are much lower-ie-future health care, pensions etc..

People in the South are absolutely NOT too stupid to assemble fookin cars!

dallison

unions blow

keg1997

I work as an adminstrator for a public school system, so here is my observation on this (cliff notes version):
Think of the bell curve (especially when it comes to intelligence/IQ) and there lies your issue. I've seen more kids who are in the 7th/8th/9th grade who are reading on a 4th/5th/6th grade level and are not doing well in school. No, these kids don't have a disability- unless you count just not being born with a strong intellect to be a disability.

Add in that many parents and kids don't value reading (but do value X-box, tv, sports, etc.) and you have another piece to the reading pie.

I could go on, but...

youngTL

Okay, I understand how that's a problem. But it's not lack of intellect I believe. How would that explain the higher literacy rate in other countries? It's not that they're smarter overall than us. It's that something in the system AND society is different. Societally here, it's acceptable to let your children watch tv for hours a day and play video games (although RPG's and some other games are good because they REQUIRE a high level of literacy to even be able to play the game in the first place), whereas over in say, Japan, it's unnaceptable to do that unless your grades are high enough and your homework is done. Although that brings its own problems (people killing themselves because they failed, etc).

charlesgage

My CL (assemble in kentucky) has far poorer build quality than my old integra (assembled in Japan). Fucking americans are idiots (myself included), the japanese work for life and take great pride in their work and they are re-imbursed just fine. How do you think they afford all the fancy camera's?

Maximized

This article is borderline moronic itself, kind of ironic. The Japanese Auto mfgs. wouldn't be anywhere today if they didn't basically copy American manufacturers in the years after WW2. It took the ideas and concepts of an American named Deming to help them build up their automotive and technology industires. Oh and I blame unions and corporate beuracracy for the average products that Detroit has been putting out for years.

charlesgage

Deming gave them the idealized manufacturing process, this is true. The difference is that Japan listened, we Didn't.

Maximized

Took us a while, but we eventually listened. Until the mid 70's ish, the Japanese produced junk.

keg1997

Good point...if you're making a direct comparision between US and other nations in regards to literacy rates, then intellect has little to do with it. At that point, you are looking at culture and other things.

jdone

Just so you know, your Acura CL was assembled in Marysville, Ohio.