In a February 4th D&C Editorial special, which we covered previously here, Dennis Mullen of the GRE and Maggie Brooks took credit for economic development in which they had no part. They also highlighted a project which was supposedly drawing the bulk of their attention:
"Looking ahead, GRE is gathering data about this region to pursue a new Toyota plant. Competition is stiff, but it's worth going after the world's largest automaker."And how did the economic policies of the GRE and the County Administration, which includes COMIDA tax breaks, MCIDC tax incentives, Empire Zone benefits and various incubator programs fare in their efforts to woo Toyota?
From the Detroit Free Press:
"Toyota Motor Corp. announced plans Tuesday to build a $1.3-billion assembly plant in northern Mississippi . . . Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour called the Toyota plant the 'crown jewel of economic development.' At least 25 states courted the plant, according to Toyota."
1 comment:
Interesting ... looks like Honda and Nissan had already given up on the idea of building plants in the deep South, and recently Toyota also chose to build in Ontario over unspecified US locations. I am surprised Toyota chose Mississippi or any US location this particular time in view of the scary facts in the article that I linked.
Here are some key quotes:
"Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for the Woodstock project.
"He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use 'pictorials' to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.
"'The educational level and the skill level of the people down there is so much lower than it is in Ontario,' Fedchun said.
"In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson."
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