Honeywell's move to Mexico

Date: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 11:59 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

February 07, 2006 No. 1413

In 2004, Techsunite exposed a secret plan by Honeywell to move jobs out of
the U.S. To read more about this go to this page:
http://www.techsunite.org/news/041207_honeywell.cfm

Honeywell VP Ed Wheeler sent an email to employees today that gives more
detail on what they are up to. His corporate-speak should not fool anyone
who gets this newsletter when he says, "The Mexicali site was selected for
long-term affordability". In plain English Wheeler means that Honeywell is
going to replace American workers with Mexicans because they are cheaper.

Wheeler says that Honeywell plans to hire 300 engineers for the Mexican
facility. They have terminated many more than that in Phoenix, Arizona, and
they have announced that layoffs will continue throughout 2006. Honeywell
workers have targets on their back although I'm sure most of them are
oblivious to the fact that they are being hunted.

The article following the email by Wheeler was written in 2004, but
considering what was just announced the author was quite prophetic.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

February 7, 2006

Dear Colleagues:

We are proud to announce in conjunction with the Mexican government that
Honeywell will establish a System Integration Laboratory (SIL) and Test
Annex in Mexicali, Mexico. The facility will develop tightly integrated
systems for next generation aircraft.

The Mexicali site was selected for long-term affordability, growing
industrial base/infrastructure, access to critical technical skills, and
close proximity to existing Honeywell's engineering and manufacturing sites
in the Southwest. Ground breaking is planned for the first quarter of 2006
and the facility will be fully operational in the second quarter of 2007.

This new facility will serve to demonstrate to our customers a wide range
of electric power subsystems and components for products ranging from
business jets and transport aircraft, to defense and space applications.
The 100,000 square foot facility will feature a full-scale simulation of
multiple aircraft systems and provide engineers with the ability to test
their interoperability, control, and technical maturity. The Test Annex
will support a variety of electronic/mechanical fabrication activities as
well as test instrumentation functions. Honeywell ultimately plans to
employ up to 300 highly specialized Aerospace engineers and technicians at
the System Integration Laboratory and Test Annex.

As we continue to grow our business we will seek areas of enhanced
productivity, strategic customer access and increased affordability for our
customers. I will keep you informed on our progress and development of this
new facility.

Ed Wheeler
Vice President
Engineering & Technology

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.globalmanufacture.net/home/news/aerospace.cfm

Aerospace manufacturing increasingly going to Mexico

September 1, 2004-- In a cavernous workshop in the sterile suburbs of this
industrial city, the Mexican company ITR makes a living from the grunt work
of overhauling jet engines. But like the rest of Mexico's aerospace
industry, it has bigger ambitions.

ITR is branching out making metal tubing for Honeywell International Inc.'s
Phoenix-based aerospace division, pouring money into equipment and testing
laboratories and aggressively marketing itself as a design and
manufacturing center. Other Mexican companies are doing the same.

They're winning contracts and new investment from Arizona-based companies,
as Honeywell, General Electric Co. and other big aerospace firms pressure
their suppliers to move their operations to Mexico to cut costs. And while
companies are reluctant to blame Mexico for a recent decline in aerospace
jobs in Arizona, labor groups are worried that things are headed in that
direction.

"One of our customers basically told us if we don't go down there, we'll
lose the work," said Hank Wolf, special projects manager for parts maker
Smith West Inc. of Tempe. "It was GE, but now Honeywell is jumping on
board."

Aerospace exports to the United States have soared from $77.1 million in
1997 to $354 million in 2003, according to the latest figures available
from the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that time, Mexico rose from the
United States' 17th-biggest aerospace supplier to its ninth.

Now Mexico is working with the United States on an agreement that would
allow aircraft parts to be certified for flight at plants in Mexico instead
of being brought over the border for inspection by U.S. experts.

Even as Mexico's exports have boomed, Arizona's aerospace jobs have
declined since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the number of jobs in aerospace manufacturing dropped from a high of 30,500
in July 2001 to 26,300 in May of this year.

Labor costs are key

The main draw for U.S. companies is the low cost of labor in Mexico, where
wages in manufacturing are a fraction of what U.S. workers earn.

www.ZaZona.com
Support this Newsletter and ZaZona.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm

To Subscribe, Unsubscribe or to view the Archive go to:
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm

Back to archives