Zeb, This Australian isnt getting rich!
No?
I'm sure a lot of other Aussies are in your boat.
And, with the news that Qantas is going down hill fast, and will now sack a 1000 workers in the wake of their 300 million dollar loss in the last half year and wants government assistance, plus the piffle about General Motors wanting another government handout or they'll leave Australia (and, newspaper speculation that as a consequence, Toyota would then also leave) there could be up to 100,000 more unemployed, in direct and associated factory closures, we can imagine that many other people may feel like you.
What's the answer? How anyone adjusts to a changing world has to be on an individual basis.
But let's look at one situation. Not so many years ago, Sweden's Volvo group looked like it was on the way out. In an attempt to stave off closure, the car mfg. group was sold to Ford for $6.5 billion in 1999. The attempt failed and by 2008, after three years of losses, closure was again getting close. In the end, China's Geely Motors bought the car division for $1.8 Billion.
Since then, Volvo seems re-vitalised:
Here's a Volvo News Release:
Reference: http://www.ibtimes.com/volvo-execs-explain-swedish-carmakers-relationship-geely-its-chinese-owner-volvo-working-its-own
As Volvo Car Corp. embarks on its recovery from a lost decade, the company’s leaders explain the relationship between Volvo and its new owner, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. Three years ago, the privately held Chinese automaker bought the struggling 86-year-old Swedish car company from Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) for $1.5 billion, which was a nearly $5-billion loss for Ford.
Since then, Volvo has been quietly investing $11 billion in a turnaround effort with the aim of reaching 800,000 unit sales by 2020, including 200,000 annual sales in China. The company is building factories in Sweden and China and working to wean itself off the platforms it used under 11 years of Ford ownership and direction. Volvo is scrapping V8 and V6 engines and focusing on V4 turbo engines with electrical assist. Like its engines, this is a smaller, leaner Volvo*.
* i.e. Its now profitable.
That road was not going to be easy, but the fact that China is now the world's biggest car market with annual sales of 15,000,000 vehicles can only help. Geely provided the funds for a new factory in western China (at Chengdu, Sichuan province -next ddor to Tibet):
Here's a Bloomsberg TV bulletin on that factory:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/volvo-opens-first-factory-in-china-UUSOMAKnRwSZwlneT3G4mg.html
Unlike Jesus, I make no claims to being a prophet, but at this moment, workers in both Sweden and China have jobs, and the future may be brighter for them all.
