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Old 8th May 2019, 13:47   #16
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Re: What happens to a factory town when a car factory shuts down?

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Originally Posted by kiku007 View Post
When UAW killed the golden goose.
Similar to the textile industry in Mumbai. The Unions caused major disruptions and finally most of the mills in Mumbai shut shop. Now they are being converted into real estate .

Last edited by GTO : 9th May 2019 at 12:41. Reason: Trimming quoted post
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Old 8th May 2019, 14:54   #17
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Re: What happens to a factory town when a car factory shuts down?

It is always a sad thing when some factory which has run as a lifeline of a town/city closes down taking the life out of the town/city. In the current economical scenario, these things will only go up as we undergo a transformation. Its kind of new normal now.

While it may not be similar to a factory shutdown, an analogous situation is about the emirate of Dubai. Dubai has realized very early in the game that the oil production is limited and one day the oil taps in desert will run dry. They transformed themselves from Oil based economy to a trade and transportation hub in the middle east. While oil money has accelerated the growth of the city, today only 5% of their revenues come from Oil. Dubai's economy today relies on revenue from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services.

Saudi Arabia has also woken up to this fact and the young prince out there has ambitious plans to convert the country to something else beyond Oil to secure the future of the country.

While cities and towns rue the lost opportunities with a factory shutdown, the onus will be on the local and provincial governments in the larger countries to catch the trends early and identify the next big thing to survive and sustain the life in their economies. As-is, America is a case of glorious contrasts. On one hand we have the rural and dilapidated mid-west which is stuck in a time warp and on the other hand we have the coastal cities which continue to evolve and catch on with the new trends and move on with life.
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Old 9th May 2019, 12:44   #18
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Re: What happens to a factory town when a car factory shuts down?

Sad story, but excellent reporting by New York Times (as always). I love their presentation & writing style .

Quote:
Originally Posted by rulerofsun View Post
Similar to the textile industry in Mumbai. The Unions caused major disruptions and finally most of the mills in Mumbai shut shop. Now they are being converted into real estate .
Would disagree. While the unions did create problems, the real estate pricing of Mumbai means there is no place for a factory in the proper city area. The owner of the factory would make 50 times more money by simply redeveloping the land into a residential / commercial complex instead. The ones in Parel were destined to die. It's commonplace for 3 BHK flats there to sell for 7 - 10 crores now.
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Old 9th May 2019, 22:27   #19
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Re: What happens to a factory town when a car factory shuts down?

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Originally Posted by ChiragM View Post
The first thing I remembered after reading your thread is this TIME article 'Why a rise in MBAs coincided with the fall of American industry'.

http://content.time.com/time/magazin...081930,00.html

Interesting, isn't it? What do the engineers and MBAs on this forum have to say about this?

By the way, I had read somewhere that somebody in the US had done a Ph. D. on this. Anyone aware of it?

Last edited by benbsb29 : 10th May 2019 at 05:00. Reason: Fixed broken quote tag.
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Old 10th May 2019, 15:22   #20
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Re: What happens to a factory town when a car factory shuts down?

One thing what I have noticed when few companies shut down their operations in industrial zones is that, they leave behind a whole lot of

1. Factory equipment,
2. Building and other utility materials,
3. Keep security working and some keep the gardens green.

Now, I have witnessed above for long periods (around 10 years). I mean why would some one leave behind what can be cashed in like,

1. Equipment - can be resold or scrapped,
2. Building materials - can be scraped,
3. Rent the place partially if possible. (meaning if there are no court cases or bans).

Also, I have noticed in India that a lot of unorganized economic sector builds around the factories like tea shops, road side pan/cigar tapris and small hotels. All these will get affected too.
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Old 10th May 2019, 15:33   #21
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Re: What happens to a factory town when a car factory shuts down?

Quote:
Originally Posted by saikarthik View Post
One thing what I have noticed when few companies shut down their operations in industrial zones is that, they leave behind a whole lot of
---
1. Equipment - can be resold or scrapped,
2. Building materials - can be scraped,
3. Rent the place partially if possible. (meaning if there are no court cases or bans).
The answer to your question is in bold. More often than not, there is tons of litigation when companies close their factories, be it due to bankruptcy or a planned exit. And when litigation is involved, you can't touch the assets.

Take this for example:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ictures-7.html (Visit to Daewoo Motors (Argentum) plant, Surajpur, UP: a Chronicle in Pictures)
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