They’ve had decades to anticipate problems with less workers needed but have done little to prepare for it.
Trying to get this:
Companies need fewer workers, but they do not know how to implement a strategy?
Or is it the Union who is trying to tell them, “No, we want you to employ X Union Workers even though you only need X-Y (X and Y both > 0)”?
With all the big bucks paid to the c-suite, they might have had someone with the foresight that this would become a problem with the unions. Maybe they did have the foresight and this is going exactly to plan but I don’t think so.
Again, which is it?
I have no idea how they’re going to solve it. The unions will probably compromise at some stage but they’re both worried about loss of too many jobs and low wages. Maybe Y can be negotiated to zero but how long will that take? It’s been known for years that EVs needed fewer workers. This should have been sorted out years ago.
Ultimately the jobs will probably go to non-union states but this delay may be a huge setback to stay competitive in the EV market.
Thank you.
OK, let’s talk about EVs.
Why do they need fewer workers? Fewer moving parts? no gas tank? no exhaust pipe? No EPA oversight on engine engineering? Or is the construction more automatic, which might have happened even with ICE vehicles? Am I answering my own questions?
This was the article that Mathman posted in the other thread. A lot less moving parts in EVs.
For workers, the biggest concern is that electric vehicles have far fewer parts than gasoline models and will render many jobs obsolete. Plants that make mufflers, catalytic converters, fuel injectors and other components that electric cars don’t need will have to be overhauled or shut down.
OK, I’m not really with the Union on this one. Jobs that are no longer needed because of progress should not have Unions propping them up “just because.”
There is one part that EVs have that ICE cars don’t. A big-ass battery. Those require a lot of assembly and what not. But I don’t think that’s helping because they don’t seem to be co-locating the battery plants with the auto plants. And why would they, necessarily, since it’s not Ford making the packs, it’s Panasonic or whoever.
I know the electric motors aren’t super simple, but at the end of the day they have one moving part. A modern ICE engine is super complicated hardware.
Do the Unions want batteries built by Union workers? That’s an interesting demand. Or at least the assembly of the completed cells.
Not sure. I’m guessing they would prefer it but I haven’t seen it mentioned.
De EV’s terk ur jerbs!!!
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So, these gas prices really make me stop and think about what I want in a driveway-sitting vehicle.
EV: some extremely small, for local driving only. Mini or Bolt, I guess. Could need only the 110V for charging when it’s needed.
Bolt, according to Edmunds:
The best small electric car this year is the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt. It is one of the least expensive EVs on sale, plus it’s eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit. The Bolt’s small size makes it easy to maneuver, yet it’s roomier inside than it looks. Possible deal-breakers for the Bolt are its small cargo area and the fact that it doesn’t really exude the “I want to show this off to my friends” factor that some EV buyers crave.
Price is about half of the car I really want, which I’d drive sparingly anyway. Already have a touring car (hybrid) that gets 40MPG. Current car has no payments, but a few thousand in repairs that should be done if I want to keep it to 300K miles. (Another cold winter with no heater core…)
Small cargo area needs to fit Costco trips, maybe a case of wine when driving back from a wine club pickup.
I think the Bolt would be an excellent local vehicle. I’ve also read that people are very happy with their Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) for local driving.
I have been happy with my Leaf. About 30K of local miles after 21 months. Leaf may have lost the 7.5K that the Bolt retains.
One might have trouble with the 110V giving one enough miles if it is an everyday driver, but IIRC DTNF’s commute is very short and car-free. 110V on a 15A circuit wouldn’t give much more than 4 mph on a small car.
I’ll say one thing for the Mini. It has little range, but that’s because it has a small battery, which means it only weighs 3,100lb or so. So if a real-world range of 100 miles is doable, I’d drive a Mini because it might be the most fun car in the mix here.
Since you have a second car, you could totally survive on 110v charging, but you’d likely be fine if you’re just using it as a local car. When I drove my Volt, even with a 15 mile round trip commute it was totally fine.
Crawling distance in my PJs!
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@Mathman , you have any issues with ants on your power cord?
Watching a video of a guy in South Carolina and a Chevy Bolt. Then again, the video shows a cord wrapped around a Focus mirror, and there are ants on it as well.
So, ???
Maybe the cord is easier to travel on than his gravel driveway, so they follow the cord, regardless of where it goes, then, if they find some food, well, you’re screwed.
Never had that happen. We did get a LOT of ants this year and I did find some in and around the Volt but they were kind of everywhere, and that happened when it was parked and not charging. I did only charge it outdoors here for about 6-12 months until we got the garage cleaned out and wired, been charging indoors since. Where we just generally don’t see many ants.
We finally got the garage cleaned out enough for our car to fit! First time we have had a car in the garage in 10+ years. The kids still keep commenting on how weird it is haha.
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