manufacturing employment growth, even as auto hiring slowed significantly. Focusing on just last year and the first quarter of this year, though, the data shows that auto represented fully 80 percent of U.S. And yet, the present and future auto slow-down is a big deal because auto is critical to the manufacturing sector, which in turn looms large in regional and political narratives about whether the country is moving “in the right direction.”Īuto-related industries, after all, delivered about 40 percent of the nation’s manufacturing employment gains in the last two years, especially important given the slow growth of other production sectors in the face of a strong dollar.Īuto-related industries, after all, delivered about 40 percent of the nation’s manufacturing employment gains in the last two years, especially important given the slow growth of other production sectors in the face of a strong dollar. Rather, the recent cuts mostly reflect the fundamentally cyclical nature of a huge consumer business. Fiat Chrysler also laid off 1,300 workers at a Detroit assembly line.īy themselves, these announcements are not apocalyptic like the dire layoffs of 2008.
assembly lines and would be laying off about 4,400 factory workers. Soon after that came Ford’s announcement of as many as 20,000 layoffs worldwide, as well as word that GM had cut production at four U.S.
Then came the company’s April disclosure that it will need to slash $3 billion in costs to free up capital to invest in new technology. Last fall, Ford jolted the industry by revealing that its sales had peaked, while projecting a tough 2017. Manage organizational and cultural change: manufacturers will need a transformation office to identify the roles that create the most value for an organization and assign them projects that drive growth in the future.And so the layoffs have begun.Non-conventional sales approach: business should develop a hunter/farmer approach, where the hunter focuses on bringing in new business and the farmer works to grow that customer, and invest in the customer of the future.Embrace digital: manufacturers will need a roadmap for this transformation with clearly defined milestones and a taskforce to drive change.Manufacturers can co-invest in R&D and product development, building capabilities through partnerships. Partnerships to build capabilities: faster market access and time-to-market are critical.These cannot be one-time efforts and will require annual strategy reviews. They will need to redefine customer segments, such as shared taxi aggregators, and rethink their geography, by sharpening export markets, for example. Rethink product strategy: manufacturers will need to de-risk their portfolios by diversifying, for example including after-market sales.