ABOUT LEVEL FIELD

A Scorecard for Families and Public Officials

What is an American Automobile? LFI's retiree supporters believe that
determination is up to you. But if you want the car you buy to support jobs
and investment in your community, you need to have the facts. Here is some
information worth considering.

Automaker Jobs.

U.S. automakers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) employ almost twice as many U.S. workers (per car) as foreign automakers (including all the cars they make here). Even with recent buyouts, GM employs about as many Americans as Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Subaru, Mercedes, BMW and VW combined. Ford and Chrysler each employ more U.S. workers at a single manufacturing facility than VW employs nationwide. Honda, the largest, longest operating "transplant" manufacturer in the U.S., employs significantly more workers, per car, than rivals Hyundai, Nissan and VW. But even Honda employs only 25,000 Americans, less than Ford or GM’s current total.

Supplier Jobs.

"Made in America" matters even more when you look at the men and women working for the auto parts suppliers that serve automakers. These companies employ nearly three times as many Americans as the automakers themselves, and they conduct approximately 40% of automotive R&D.

Ford, GM and Chrysler use twice the “domestic content,” per car, that foreign automakers use, on average. As a result, even though Ford, GM and Chrysler sold less than half the vehicles purchased in the U.S. last year, they purchased nearly two-thirds of the parts made here.

Research & Development.

Tomorrow's jobs will depend, in part, on today's R&D, particularly in fuel efficiency and safety. The Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), an association of 14 Japanese automakers doing business in America, notes that they collectively employ 3,600 R&D
workers at 36 facilities nationwide. Automakers and auto suppliers operate approximately 330 automotive R&D facilities in Michigan alone.