Well, it's happened Hawker Beechcraft has been sold to Superior Aviation Beijing Co. Which begs the question as to who else has left to go to China...For a while China has had issues with their General Aviation, one blogger states that China is behind the curve and doesn't really know where to begin in order to bring General Aviation up to where the U.S. is. To me it makes perfect sense that China is purchasing U.S. manufacturers, how else are they going to learn the ways to have a successful world of aviation, and who is better to learn from then the leader? Today the Cessna Skycatcher is built in China and shipped on over to the U.S.. This saves the company $71,000 in production costs PER AIRCRAFT. Even though they save about 40% in cost on the down side over 650 jobs were lost in the plants of Wichita and Bend Oregon and that was just at the beginning of the sale over to China. By the end of it all over 8,000 jobs were lost in America so that the Skycatcher could be built in China...thank you China.
Now China is starting to learn our ways of how we are able to have a successful world of General Aviation they are starting to grow just like the U.S. When there's a company building faster and safer aircrafts people are going to be more willing to buy them, and that could be what China is going for. Having a safer GA there so they can make even more money off of us silly pilots.
One thing I've noticed with a few other companies that have ties with China is that they are just ties. China hasn't fully taken over. Just like the Cessna Skycatcher, China is only building that one type aircraft. They're not designing them and their not building all of the Cessna aircrafts. This seems to be the way with other companies like Cessna, China is only doing a part of it in order to reduce cost and in return making it more affordable for those looking to purchase.
If what I think is happening with China's GA actually happens this could potentially be bad news for the U.S. GA. More and more jobs will be moved and some might even go to China in order to purchase an aircraft completely Chinese made instead of keeping at least a portion of the money here in the States. But let's be honest here, what hasn't China partially taken over? It comes down to the person running the company if they're a gung-ho American lover or if they would rather keep some more green in their pocket.
Assignment due Sunday, December 9th
11 years ago
Business owners are often forced into decisions to sell their company (all or part), or to have their product manufactured in a country that charges less. This is usually a decision driven by the consumer's choice to buy products that cost less. A "gung-ho American" business owner could very well go out of business if proper adjustments aren't made. Every American employed at that business would also lose their job.
ReplyDeleteIf a business owner has a choice to stay in business while partnering with someone from a different company, or going out of business, what choice should they pick?
WOw - 8,000 jobs lost over the Skycatcher? I didn't realize the number was so steep.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough for businesses to keep jobs in the U.S. because of the salaries and hourly rates needed to keep skilled workers working. With China's ability to utilize cheap labor puts a lot of pressure on companies to move their jobs to take advantage of the lower costs.
ReplyDelete