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Author Topic: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand  (Read 1777 times)

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YELLOWBIRD

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MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« on: May 10, 2018, 09:57:54 PM »

Just saw this tonight.

As we all know, the Kansas City plant is closing. (If not already closed) Now the MoCo is planning to open new plant in Thailand.


 >:(


YB

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/387120-harley-davidson-to-open-plant-in-thailand-after-closing-one-in-kansas-city?amp
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2018, 10:22:50 PM »

Disgusting but I'm not surprised.  They have to rely on the foreign market to buy their bikes because Americans are now buying more reliable brands at much lower costs.
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lowflight

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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2018, 11:01:27 PM »

Disgusting is right! I can only hope that the Union is wrong.
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2018, 11:05:04 PM »

Reuters had the MoCo's announcement of the Thai plant about a year ago.  The plant isn't new news.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-harleydavidson-thailand/harley-davidson-plans-a-thailand-factory-to-serve-se-asian-market-idUSKBN18L0DA
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2018, 09:01:27 AM »

There going to be building the street models there for the foreign market.  They cant ship them from here to there because the Tariffs are to high. 
With the added Tariff they are priced out of the market.
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2018, 12:57:48 PM »

When sales justify the capital $$s required, it's common to build an assembly plant "in country".  Good business practice, USA benefits from a number of Japanese & European automakers who have plants here for similar reasons as HD in Thailand. 

It works both ways and with the 60% tariff should mean HD figures on being more competitive in the Asian markets.

Can understand why the union guy is mad, but HD is building for another market, in that market.  Very different than moving jobs overseas then selling that product here.
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Not new news.  Union may be making the political choice to bitch now but the Thai initiative was announced a year ago.  If that market exists building in Asia for the Asian market makes sense too.
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charles05663

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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2018, 02:26:44 PM »


It works both ways and with the 60% tariff markup should mean HD figures on being could be more competitive in the Asian American markets by lowering it.


Modified for us American buyers.

 :oops: :nixweiss:
« Last Edit: May 11, 2018, 02:30:26 PM by charles05663 »
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2018, 04:22:56 PM »

Modified for us American buyers.

 :oops: :nixweiss:

Nope. Asian market is not the American market, this HD Asian plant does not impact HD sales in the USA, anymore than a USA based Toyota plant impacts Toyota sales in Japan.   
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2018, 05:04:53 PM »

The union can bitch and criticize all they want but they didn't do themselves any favors.  Never mind the decision to close the KC plant is not directly related to opening up the plant in Thailand.  As was stated prior the Thailand plant is driven by the need for Harley to gain access to those markets and avoiding the tariffs.  Then consider the VRod line being discontinued years ago, the Sportster line being reinvented and the Dyna line being brought into the Softail line coupled all this by ever declining sales and the reality is, KC is no longer a viable asset to continue production.  It sucks but when you have a manufacturing capacity of @400,000 units and only selling @240,000 something had to give. 
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2018, 10:18:27 PM »

Nope. Asian market is not the American market, this HD Asian plant does not impact HD sales in the USA, anymore than a USA based Toyota plant impacts Toyota sales in Japan.

It was tongue in check how they could increase sales in the USA by lowering their price of their domestically produced bikes.

 :oops: :nixweiss:
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2018, 11:57:34 PM »

It was tongue in check how they could increase sales in the USA by lowering their price of their domestically produced bikes.

 :oops: :nixweiss:

Possibly, the way buyers are looking these days may not be a given. But bikes don't have a 60% profit margin. 

It's only 58%.   ;)
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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2018, 01:08:56 AM »

What's next customer service call center in India?

USA TODAY
"A labor union for Harley-Davidson believes the nation's best-known motorcycle maker is closing its factory in Kansas City in order to move some of the work to a new plant in Thailand. Harley has said it will close the Kansas City factory despite pleas from some members of Congress to keep it open and retain about 800 jobs. Harley says it’s moving the Kansas City work to the company’s plant in York, Pa., creating about 400 additional jobs in York.
But in a meeting Wednesday with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., members of the Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said at least some of the work was headed to Thailand.

“Part of my job is being moved to York, but the other part is going to Bangkok,” said Richard Pence, a machinist at the Kansas City plant.

Harley-Davidson has denied there’s a connection between Kansas City and Thailand.

“The plant under construction in Thailand is a separate and unrelated issue. Part of our long-term strategy is to grow our international business to 50 percent of our annual volume by 2027. The Thailand facility will allow us to be competitive and provide riders greater access to our brand and our products in an expanding global marketplace,” the company said in a statement. Harley-Davidson also has a motorcycle assembly plant in India, where it builds the company’s popular Street-model bikes for foreign markets.

“Increasing production capacity in Asia is consistent with the company’s long-term strategy to focus on growth internationally. It is not intended to reduce U.S. manufacturing,” the company said. But that case is tough to accept in Kansas City, where the company has assembled some of its most popular motorcycles since 1997.

“I am being directly affected by a corporate decision that I had no say in,” said Pence, who has worked at the plant for 21 years and has the highest seniority ranking in the facility.

Pence, who works in machine maintenance, said engineers from the plant are going to Thailand to help set up that operation, with trial production runs expected this summer. He believes that some of the Kansas City plant’s equipment, too, will be shipped to Thailand.

“They are going over everything now, getting ready to crate it up,” he said.

About 35% of the bikes assembled in Kansas City are destined for sale outside of the U.S., according to Pence, although Harley would not confirm that.
Asia has been one of the company’s fastest-growing markets, but over the years it’s also been a market with steep tariffs on U.S.-made motorcycles.

“We have been fighting tariffs for the 21 years I have been employed with the company. But tariffs are just a fact of life,” Pence said.

The union is critical of Harley for investing in Thailand while also receiving tax cuts under President Donald Trump’s new corporate tax plan.

“These companies are taking tax breaks with one hand and handing out pink slips with the other,” said International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers President Bob Martinez Jr. “I’m going to call it like I see it ... this is a corporate ambush on working people."

“They should be reinvesting in America,” Pence, the Kansas City employee, said.

Harley-Davidson has said the Thailand plant will assemble bikes from components produced at the company’s U.S. facilities.
Harley’s U.S. sales have been sinking in recent years as baby boomers begin to age out of riding and fewer younger people step up to take their place.

“Unfortunately there is nothing that could have been done to address the pressure of excess capacity we have in the U.S. market,” Harley said."
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charles05663

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Re: MoCo says Bye Bye Kansas City, Hello Thailand
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2018, 08:15:22 AM »


Harley-Davidson has said the Thailand plant will assemble bikes from components produced at the company’s U.S. China facilities. This has allowed the company to increase shareholder value and increase the bonuses paid to the corporation executives.


Updated for their 2019 press release.
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And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Matthew 4:19

http://www.thefishermenministry.net/

Q:  What is the USA's number one export to China?
A:  Trash!  They loved our high quality trash. (not any longer).

      Stolen technology and Jobs!
 

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