Internationalization of the Auto Industry and Its Employment Impacts

International investment by large auto firms has led to a global integration of production. Ford’s European Automotive Operations (EAO) are a prime example of the strategy of integrating plants in order to respond to competition and to gain greater economies by serving new markets with a world car. Ford’s strategy has included shifting production operations to low labor cost areas, seeking subsidies on new investment, and cutting labor and materials costs.

The second part of this paper examines whether Ford’s reorganization has parallels in the recent changes in the U.S. auto industry It evaluates changes at the regional, urban and factory level and tendencies to subsidization and component outsourcing.