As a long-time fan of the Toyota product, I’ve heard or read hundreds of comments about how Toyota isn’t an “American” company, that buying a Toyota product is hurting the American worker, etc.
I’ve always tried to educate the people who make these statements, explaining that 1) most “domestic” cars aren’t nearly as domestic as they think and that 2) some Toyotas (and Nissans and what have you) are designed, built, and sourced in the USA (like the Tundra).
Yet sometimes this info falls on deaf ears.
So, instead of detailed explanations about where Toyota’s profits go or numerous examples of supposedly imported products winning “most American” awards, I’m just going to talk about two numbers:
-266,536
and
+74,885
The first number? The number of workers fired or laid off by GM, Chrylser-Fiat, and Ford since the year 2000. The second? Workers hired by Toyota, Nissan, Daimler etc.*
*Numbers according to Automotive News
266,536 Jobs Lost?!
It’s appalling to me that the three stalwarts of the American auto industry can lay off 266,000 employees, yet still have ardent defenders. How can anyone talk about buying an “American Made” product from Ford, GM, or Chrysler-Fiat under the guise of supporting the American worker? Those three companies put more than a quarter of a million workers in the street since the year 2000.
To put that number in perspective:
- If each of these 266,536 people earned an average of $60,000 a year, that’s nearly $16 billion in lost wages per year.
- If each of these 266,536 people collected $2,000 a month in unemployment benefits for a period of 18 months before finding a new job, that’s $9.5 billion in government provided benefits to workers who GM, Ford, and Chyrsler-Fiat fired or laid off.
- If each of these 266,536 lost jobs supported 2-3 additional jobs each (school teachers, store clerks, dealerships, etc.), this 266,000 job “contraction” could have actually been about 1 million jobs lost.
Now I realize that GM, Ford, and Chrysler-Fiat were bloated, poorly managed corporations that had to lay off workers in order to stay competitive. It’s called “capitalism,” and I’m all for it.
However, explain to me how it makes sense to be loyal to a group of companies that laid off 266,536 people over the last decade (or so) under the premise of supporting your fellow Americans…cause I don’t get it.
Fortunately, “Imports” Hired 74,885 North Americans
While Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat were busy laying off workers, Toyota, Nissan, Daimler, and others were busy hiring people by the thousands. About 75 thousands, to be precise.
Toyota in particular opened three new auto plants since 2005:
- TMMTX in San Antonio, which builds Tundras and Tacomas
- TMMC in Woodstock, Ontario, which builds Rav4s
- TMMMS in Blue Springs, Mississipi, which builds the Corolla
Is this proof that Toyota is good and Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat are bad? No. It’s just evidence that the whole “I only buy cars made by American companies cause’ I believe in the American worker” argument is nonsense, at least if you think that only your average Ford, GM, or Chrysler-Fiat product is made by the American worker.
Blind loyalty to Ford, GM, and Chrysler-Fiat is mystifying to me for a lot of reasons…this one of them.
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