amazon quits sluff because the peeps canna talk propa

[candace]

On 5 Mar 2006, at 19:10, Ovid wrote:

> No.  I'm familiar with the story and this is not the case.  The stated
> reasons for the move were the illiteracy of the Alabama workers raising
> training costs (they really used pictorials) and Canada's health care
> system lowering insurance costs.

The only source I can find for the pictorial anecdote is from some guy 
who was the head of some quango to further industry in Canada -- 
basically someone whose job it is to get businesses to go to Canada, 
even if it means spreading unsubstantiated rumours. (Gerry Fedchun, 
president of the Toronto based Automotive Parts Manufacturers' 
Association -- sounds real unbiased to me.)

Meanwhile, Toyota itself refutes the comment here:
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/050708/toyota.shtml
"Toyota has been extremely pleased with the work force in Alabama," 
said Jim Bolte, vice president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama in 
Huntsville. "Since starting production in 2003, we have announced two 
expansions and continue to hire highly skilled, dedicated Alabamians." 
With more gushing following this quote including a statistic that 70 
percent of the workforce there has some college (university) education.

Here is a story from the Globe and Mail (the archives on their site are 
pay-for) that talks about the move:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=79713
Education is not mentioned.  Subsidies from Canada are.
"Ontario won out after intense lobbying by Premier Dalton McGuinty and 
Economic Development Minister Joe Cordiano -- who made two trips to 
Japan to pitch the province's case -- and a promise of $125-million in 
financial help from the Ontario and federal governments. Ontario will 
ante up $70-million and Ottawa the remaining $55-million, sources 
familiar with the impending announcement said."
...
"Industry, government and union officials watched with growing dismay 
earlier this decade as plants closed in Canada, while Alabama, 
Mississippi and Texas won billions of dollars in new automotive 
investments that turned the region into Detroit South."

Again, like my post hinted last time, more and more car companies are 
locating their factories in the South.  This is also for tax benefit 
reasons.  My native county is one of the northernmost counties in the 
Gulf Opportunity Zone, created in the aftermath of Katrina.  This tax 
incentive is one of the main things they are luring Kia with, along 
with the success of the Nissan plant and the fact that they recently 
bagged a helicopter factory and steel plant.  The other competitor for 
the Kia plant is not Canada, but Georgia.  So, if we're all illiterate 
fools, we must learn real fast from them thar pictorials.


candace