Layoffs mount as slump in world auto industry deepens

[TexasTowelie]

Note: The article from World Socialist Website is written with a socialist slant.


The global downturn in the auto industry is continuing with warnings of further massive job losses ahead as sales continue to slump in key markets and companies are seeking to put aside cash to carry out research and development of electric and self-driving vehicles. The escalating trade tensions between the US and China are putting additional pressure on automakers.

The global character of the attack on jobs exposes the reactionary nationalism promoted by the unions and big-business politicians around the world including the US Trump administration. The threat to jobs is not a product of the trade policies of this or that country but the failure of the capitalist system itself, which is hurtling toward another major economic downturn.

This week, a leading industry figure in India warned that the continuing sales slump in India could lead to as many 1 million jobs cuts in the auto components sector out of a total employment of around 5 million in the country.

According to Ram Venkataramani, president of the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India, passenger car sales in India fell 18.4 percent in the first quarter of 2019 and sales in June were at the lowest level in 18 years. The auto sector accounts for almost half of all manufacturing in India and the downturn in auto is a major reason for slowing growth in that country. About 35 million jobs are dependent directly or indirectly on auto production.

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/07/30/auto-j30.html