The Quiet Corporate Sins

We see corporations on the news, in the papers, and smeared across the media as they too often do stupid things with very little thought other than trying to get in their next sound bite and sell more products. Unfortunately, we rarely take a deeper look into what their occasional thoughtless actions can cost, that is to say the total cost, not just the tid bit we read in the morning paper. For instance, lets look at the recent Toyota announcement that they were suddenly moving out of Northern Kentucky and relocating to Texas and taking some 1,600 jobs with them.

Aside from the fact that Toyota gave no advance notice, didn’t give the state the opportunity to negotiate or even find out what, if any, problem was causing the move. Aside from the fact that Kentucky had provided them some pretty nice perks including other perks to the Georgetown assembly plant that employee’s another 7,000. Aside from the fact that in the early days people in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio went out of their way to support the new Japanese executives, inviting them into their homes, their lives and make them part of the community … Toyota simply felt they didn’t owe anyone anything.

“Oh What A Feeling” certainly has a much different meaning to the surrounding communities these days. It certainly makes you wonder how many more Toyota’s will be sold around that area in coming months or years? Oh don’t worry Toyota, if Americans know anything it’s how to quickly forgive, forget and keep buying those products, no matter how badly they treat us. How quickly Toyota has forgotten that while the world was beating them up concerning their flaws in automobiles, this area were staunch supporters, still buying cars that might not have been safe and working in those factories as well as working on the news media to get out the “other side” of the story.

Perhaps I’m a bit harsh. After all, during it’s 18 years in Northern Kentucky Toyota contributed countless millions of dollars to local school systems, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and countless non-profit agencies. They were one of the top 25 supporters of United Way and created the Toyota Born Learning Academies in local schools. In times like we have now to say that this loss will be devastating to the community is certainly an understatement, especially with so many corporations continuing to hoard their cash and refuse to put more investment into local communities with more jobs and more opportunities. The train of greed adds a few more cars and speeds down the track into the unknown.

Corporations continue to cry about the lack of qualified people to fill their ranks yet they continue to look past the many older workers who can do those jobs, are more loyal, and simply want a chance to show what they can do. They continue to play their games to keep salaries artificially low while raking in booming profits, yet not even paying dividends to their investors. They pay their senior executives disgusting salaries while charging their employees parking fees, union dues (Walmart), uniform costs, and all the while they cut medical support, retirement programs, and even the length of time the average worker gets for their lunch.

And still, we let them get away with it. No doubt the city of Plano Texas are overjoyed at their newest neighbor, but once again we fail to see the big picture. I can’t help but wonder what the reaction of the Toyota executives would be if they were met at the edge of town by those Texans who said “hey, you screwed all those school kids and community groups in Kentucky without so much as a goodbye – just turn around and get out, we don’t want anything like you for neighbors so you can do that to us in a few years”. Yep, that is a message I would love to see corporate America have to swallow ….
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Comments (6)

no corporations only care about profit nothing else matters .
very good friend
They have done the same thing to the California plant. But here, Texas Governor Rick Perry, made some pretty tasteless remarks against California.

Toyota may make a comeback trip and soon. As the old saying about the grass being greener on the other side! It may not be as promised by Governor Perry.
There is a positive side..1600 new jobs will be created in another area..some might even relocate surely.
I think most of the big corporations are very selfish and greedy! Janesville Wisconsin had a GMC truck assembly plant. Some years back, when GMC took bailout money from the taxpayers, they closed the truck plant in Janesville. 2000 people lost their jobs! Many, many people lost their homes and countless other things! The city still hasn't recovered from the closing of the plant.

Four months later, on August 30, 2009, GM entered into a “50-50 joint venture” with China FAW Group Corp., one of China’s largest automakers. GM’s cash influx helped boost FAW’s efforts to expand its light duty commercial vehicles and SUV manufacturing. The partnership sold more than 88,000 vehicles in 2010.

Needless to say, I will never buy a GMC auto or truck!thumbs up
strange that no one ever condemns the political enablers of those Big Corporations!uh oh wow
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created Apr 2014
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