Ford takes a knee as does Apple-Moving jobs back

[utcsox]

[quote=flu]So here is something interesting. I was at UCSD Thornton Hospital and two things I noticed.

1. They removed all the parking gates and parking attendants and replaced them with self service kiosk.

2. Checking into the hospital, you no longer wait a long time for a clerk to check you in. You self check in at one of the 4 computer kiosks. If you have problems, 1 person is there overseeing all the kiosks.

Yup, automation replaced a lot of hospital clerical work too.

Those jobs aren’t coming back.[/quote]

Amazon is opened brick-and-mortar stores without check out lines…

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/amazon-introduces-first-physical-grocery-store-161027718–finance.html

[spdrun]

^^^

Hopefully that idea will go over like a lead balloon — can you see the negative aspects of having one’s eating habits tied to an online account with one’s real name? Bet the newly deregulated hellth in$urance piggies will just lurrrrrve this.

I’m thankful that I’m in NYC, which seems to be a collective late adopter of new tech, especially in poorer immigrant neighborhoods. Not a West Coast city whose lifeblood is technological disrapetion.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=flu]So here is something interesting. I was at UCSD Thornton Hospital and two things I noticed.

1. They removed all the parking gates and parking attendants and replaced them with self service kiosk.

2. Checking into the hospital, you no longer wait a long time for a clerk to check you in. You self check in at one of the 4 computer kiosks. If you have problems, 1 person is there overseeing all the kiosks.

Yup, automation replaced a lot of hospital clerical work too.

Those jobs aren’t coming back.[/quote]

I take my elderly relatives to Thornton. They should start video exams.

For example my dad takes prostate medication. It’s a maintenance med. there is no need for an in person consultation to continue the med. anything that is “just take this pill” can be done over video. Maybe have lower paid remote docs based in far away areas.

UCSD implemented paperless medical records a while ago, so that’s a step in the right direction. They don’t even write paper prescriptions anymore. But I believe the system is still inefficient in that it faxes the prescription to the pharmacy. Not exactly seamless.

[spdrun]

Yeppers. Let’s relocate all of the good jobs to chitholes in bumblefek where people won’t actually want to live. Let’s race to the bottom and fast!

If you’re going to do a video consult, why do a consult at all? A prostate exam can’t be done remotely.

Just write the script for a longer time period and have them contact the office if they experience side effects or increased symptoms.

[FlyerInHi]

You need an exam to get a prescription. They don’t do physical prostate exam every time. It’s like a social call.

I have more free time so I often take my relative, just to be nice. But it’s really stupid waste 1/2 just for “you’re doing really good, continue to take the meds”.

Spd, for a tech guy, you’re so resistant to change. More efficiency means more leisure and resources channeled to better uses. That sounds scary to people who may lose jobs but we just need to find new ways to allocate resources. We are smart enough to invent new ways of living.

[spdrun]

Again: why bother with the video exam if they’re not actually doing anything? Change the rules to allow for more refills, call it a day. Or allow pharmacists (aka “chemists”) to prescribe, as is the case in much of the rest of the world.

I’m actually trying to GTFO anything related to technology. I don’t see technology as changing the world for the better. All I see is fewer jobs, more “connectedness” (read: longer hours) for the jobs that do exist, less privacy, easier distribution of false news, etc. I don’t see the benefits as outweighing the negatives.

The technology that we DO need to adopt for the sake of the environment like nuclear power, renewable energy, electric cars, electric trains is primarily an engineering problem with no political will behind it in the US.

Frankly, I hope to move to a country with a more stagnant, slower pace of life to raise a family in the next few years. Looking at places like Costa Rica, Portugal, Czech Republic, etc. I don’t care for modernity and innovation, if I ever did.

[FlyerInHi]

Spd, maybe you’re different but I met countless Americans who live abroad. Generally, it’s bitch, bitch, bitch,… “the small vendor won’t take my credit card; i can’t find what I want like at Home Depot; can’t buy my big food cereal; can’t get my processed cheese slices.” Constant comparing to back home,….but they bear it because they must for other reasons.

[spdrun]

I’d be the last person to bitch about vendors not accepting a credit card, since I prefer to pay cash for 90% of in-person stuff anyway. I wish MORE vendors would take cash without a hassle in the US.

I don’t really eat much processed food either, and am generally not a big consumer. Most of the “stuff” that I own other than clothing is second or third hand. I don’t expect the world around me to be perfect and work seamlessly.

Basically, I have low expectations, so I’m seldom disappointed.

[FlyerInHi]

I wish you the best spd because you’re a good guy.

But as any man will tell you, being a slacker doesn’t cut it. Better get with the program especially if you want to start a family. Doing so abroad is not easy because, while you may be content with less, other people will have high expectations of the American. Exceptionalism comes at a price. Your in laws will think you’re lazy if you don’t earn enough money to send their American grandkids to international school. And why isn’t the family having thanksgiving dinner at the grand Hyatt with the American chamber of commerce families who drive brand new SUVs?

Nope, there’s no getting away from the rat race.

[spdrun]

You’re assuming I want to marry a local (or otherwise) gold-digger, which is an incorrect assumption. I’ve already met the person whom I’m interested in marrying, and she’s pretty much the polar opposite of that stereotype.

[Coronita]

So about Carrier saving those 1000 jobs….Read the fine print from the CEO of Carrier himself. They chose to stay because they will use the incentives to automate the factory so it can remain competitive with companies that are using labor in mexico. CEO admits this will lead to fewer jobs in Indiana… But at least the company stays in the U.S….lol…

Again, those manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back because companies will always find a cheaper way to do it than hire american workers and pay them a lot for assembly line work. And they need to, in order to stay competitive on the world markets…

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ceo-united-technologies-just-let-231538059.html

In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer aired December 5, Hayes set out the comparative advantages of moving to jobs to Mexico, the motivation behind his decision to keep those jobs in Indiana, and the ultimate outcome of the deal: there will be fewer manufacturing jobs in Indiana.

First, Hayes was asked what’s so good about Mexico. Quite a lot, it turns out. From the transcript (emphasis added):

GREG HAYES: So what’s good about Mexico? We have a very talented workforce in Mexico. Wages are obviously significantly lower. About 80% lower on average. But absenteeism runs about 1%. Turnover runs about 2%. Very, very dedicated workforce.

JIM CRAMER: Versus America?

GREG HAYES: Much higher. And I think that’s just part of these– the jobs, again, are not jobs on assembly line that people really find all that attractive over the long term. Now I’ve got some very long service employees who do a wonderful job for us. And we like the fact that they’re dedicated to UTC, but I would tell you the key here, Jim, is not to be trained for the job today. Our focus is how do you train
people for the jobs of tomorrow?

So Mexico has cheaper labor with a much more dedicated workforce, and these are the kinds of low-skilled jobs most people don’t find that attractive. Elsewhere in the interview, he made clear that United Technologies intends to keep engineering jobs in the US, and that these higher-skilled jobs are not at risk of being moved overseas.

“The assembly lines in Indiana– I mean, great people. Great, great people. But the skill set to do those jobs very different than what it takes to assemble a jet engine,” he said.

Hayes was then asked why he decided to cancel the move to Mexico. From the transcript (emphasis added):

GREG HAYES: So– there was a cost as we thought about keeping the Indiana plant open. At the same time, and I’ll tell you this because you and I, we know each other, but I was born at night but not last night. I also know that about 10% of our revenue comes from the US government. And I know that a better regulatory environment, a lower tax rate can eventually help UTC of the long run.

The result of keeping the plant in Indiana open is a $16 million investment to drive down the cost of production, so as to reduce the cost gap with operating in Mexico.
What does that mean? Automation. What does that mean? Fewer jobs, Hayes acknowledged.

GREG HAYES: Right. Well, and again, if you think about what we talked about last week we’re going to make a $16 million investment in that factory in Indianapolis to automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive. Now is it as cheap as moving to Mexico with lower cost labor? No. But we will make that plant competitive just because we’ll make the capital investments there.

JIM CRAMER: Right.

GREG HAYES: But what that ultimately means is there will be fewer jobs.

[Coronita]

I think a lot of engineers that work on robotics, software, controls, and even mech e’s are going to have a promising future. US companies will be under pressure to keep manufacturing in the U.S. U.S. companies will take whatever tax incentives/government money they get and try to automate the crap out of their factories to stay competitive. They’ll need to hire brains who can build these systems, quickly, much more so than hiring people to work the assembly lines.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=spdrun]Hopefully that idea will go over like a lead balloon — can you see the negative aspects of having one’s eating habits tied to an online account with one’s real name? Bet the newly deregulated hellth in$urance piggies will just lurrrrrve this.
[/quote]

As someone who eats healthy I’d gladly let my health carrier see my grocery receipts in exchange for no more waiting in checkout lines. And wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to put up with a total stranger, who is your cashier, trying to make a “personal connection” as their marketing dept has trained them to do?

And what about the positive aspects of having one’s eating habits tied to an online account? If my health insurance took into account my eating habits, my exercise habits, my weight and cholesterol, my sleeping habits and my general lifestyle I bet my health insurance would drop in half. But no, I gotta be lumped in with a pool of people who eat like crap, never exercise, and in general don’t take care of themselves.

[spdrun]

I’d rather pay ONE rate for my insurance based on my location and company, as has been New York law for the past 25 years. Not even rating based on age or gender was allowed. Socialism is good — it keeps corporate filth from micro-managing people’s lives.

Really? You want some corporate swine tracking your sleeping habits? You really want it to get to the point that people have no privacy, and have to start paying extra for things beyond their control?

Say your kid stays up crying till 2 am, you get caught in traffic coming back from a trip, you’re worried about something and can’t sleep well for a few weeks. Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Goes your money into your insurapigs’ account.

This is why public insurance is needed, and not even the far-right in Europe opposes it. Does a much better job in providing cheap health care, and since it’s public, it’s bound by strict privacy rules. There would be a civil war if they started tracking sleep or eating habits in most countries!

And my ideal isn’t cashfree, clean Scandanavia. It’s corrupt, anarchic places like Italy, Greece, Portugal, or many East European countries.

[no_such_reality]

[quote=flu]I think a lot of engineers that work on robotics, software, controls, and even mech e’s are going to have a promising future. US companies will be under pressure to keep manufacturing in the U.S. U.S. companies will take whatever tax incentives/government money they get and try to automate the crap out of their factories to stay competitive. They’ll need to hire brains who can build these systems, quickly, much more so than hiring people to work the assembly lines.[/quote]

Um, that was what I was doing back in 1991. An entire stamping plant for GM, assembly line replaced by robotic stamp machine. One crane operator moving metal rolls to the front of the stamp machine, another crane operator moving the finished panels to the loading drop point. Over 100 union workers per line sitting at picnic tables watching the machines work playing cards being paid because their contract wouldn’t let them be replaced by automation. No idea how many lines, it was one of those plants measured in tens of acres.

The next round of contract negotiations wasn’t pretty.

Fast forward to 2008, GM get’s bailed out by the Government, stock goes to zero, rebrands, relaunches and the union gets a 17.5% share of preferred stock paying 9%.

[Author]

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