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> Anyone know what changed economically to justify the high US labor costs? Particularly compared to MX My understanding is the US: 1. Is more politically, ec
by dukeyukey 4y ago
> Anyone know what changed economically to justify the high US labor costs? Particularly compared to MX
My understanding is the US:
1. Is more politically, economically, and frankly physically secure than Mexico.
2. Has cheaper energy
3. Has a better-trained manufacturing workforce for the kinds of machine Lego is gonna use.
- GalenErso 4y agoMaybe they just received some good old-fashioned tax incentives? It's not always about geopolitics.
- newjersey 4y agoMy guess is that Lego customers are also increasingly older. I mean look at the millennium falcon. https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/millennium-falcon-75192 https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/millennium-falcon-75192 https://i.imgur.com/vsxVnSJ.png https://i.imgur.com/vsxVnSJ.png ages 16+ When I think of fancy lego, I think of something like this https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/lego-medium-creative-brick-box-10696 https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/lego-medium-creative-bric... because it has wheels and stuff, not just bricks. I would have imagined "regular" lego was just different sizes of bricks, not even a sloped "roof" brick or wheels. Also I think "made in USA" might help sales in the US and at the very least calms investors?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- buck4roo 4y agoInvestors? LEGO Group A/S remains privately held by the family that started it in Denmark.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Kye 4y agoTax incentives are geopolitics. That's why all the best sci-fi TV shows came out of Vancouver for a while and every movie and TV show for the last several years thanks the state of Georgia.
- nonethewiser 4y agoThat’s just politics
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- homonculus1 4y ago[dead]
- gtop3 4y agoQuestions: * Does the cheaper energy come into play with such a large onsite solar system? * (From the point of view of a manufacturing company opening operations in the us) Does the US currently have a surplus of well trained manufacturing workers? I hear a lot of factory management/executives still complaining that the skilled labor they need just doesn't exist.
- dukeyukey 4y ago1. Yes, absolutely. There are very few developed countries with large population centres on or adjacent to strong solar potential, and fewer again if you limit them by others stuff Lego is looking for (e.g. workforce compatibility, market access). 2. That's probably true, but the US labour market is simultaneously huge, flexible, and well-educated. That gives it an advantage over most competitors.
- proudeu 4y agoIs this well educated labour force the part of the voter base of the two biggest parties across the pond? if yes then I wish the very best to the manufacturing trials there. We already have seen the quality of Us manufacturing recently with Tesla cars. The times that made in America was synonymous with good quality are long gone.
- 7speter 4y agoWe make pretty good Hondas and Toyotas, though. My household has a 20 year old Camry from Kentucky that starts practically every time you crank it (except when the battery is too old).
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y agoAs a general rule, the quality of manufacturing output has far less to do with the workers, and more to do with the procedures that they're made to follow. If you put people in a situation where they can only produce crap, then that's what you'll get.
- nonethewiser 4y ago
- HeWhoLurksLate 4y agoMexico has political stability problems, for one...
- datavirtue 4y ago....AND workers are dirt cheap and have nearly zero protections.
- mminer237 4y agoWhat? Essentially no US factory is paying less than $15/hour. Like $20/hour is more common. And they have to pay benefits. That's more expensive than most of Europe. In Mexico you would be lucky to make $5/hour.