OPINION: Honda Philippines Plant Shutdown. Is there really what we call Job Security?
Photo Credits: Honda Inc.
The announcement was made. Employees are going to lose their jobs this February affecting the families of the employees adding to the rate of unemployment in the country.
CORPORATE STRATEGIES
As reported, they want to transfer the manufacturing part of the business to India. Provided is the statement of Honda Philippines Inc.
"To meet Honda’s customer needs in the Philippines for reasonably priced and good-quality products, Honda considered efficient allocation and distribution of resources. As such, after consideration of optimization efforts in the production operations in Asia and Oceania region, Honda decided to close the manufacturing operations of HCPI."
OUTSOURCING JOBS
Globalization has made a great impact on offshoring. From customer services to production plants, they have made it possible to generate jobs in the country. We already have heard of Call Centers, Shared Service Centers, and production plants that are built providing more jobs in the country.
Outsourcing jobs is not new. Thousands of Americans have already lost their jobs due to it. We have seen this on some companies that moved their production plants to China.
Several services are also distributed among countries like Inda, Thailand, and the Philippines.
In the Philippines, the majority of outsourced jobs is in the BPO industry.
They believe that Filipinos have the advantage of taking on the job due to its proficiency in the English language.
Some manufacturing plants are also outsourced in the country.
The following were listed as the advantages of outsourcing jobs:
1. Cost Advantages
2. Increased Efficiency
3. Focus on Core Areas
4. Save on Infrastructure and Technology
5. Access to skilled workers
6. Time Zone Advantage
7. Faster and Better Services
JOB SECURITY
Let us admit the fact that with globalization knocking on our door, and industry 4.0 is on its way, jobs are no longer secure. Everyone can be replaced by either a person from another part of the world, within your country, or through algorithms that computers can do. Redundant tasks are being automated that can replace humans. This happened in the United States, which resulted in more unemployment recorded.
As of January, statistics show that there are 14.3 million outsourced jobs, while there are 5.9 million unemployed Americans.
With Honda shutting down in the country, this is a strategic move for the company to maximize the profit that they earned, considering the results of the market analysis done by the company, with lower cost as just one of the factors.
In an article on The Balance, they have cited why India is the next big thing of offshoring jobs. They have listed the following reasons:
1. The Cost of Living is lower
2. India has many well-educated technology workers
3. English is one of India's subsidiary language
4. India's people come from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds.
5. Profitable Indian Film Industry
When it comes to technology, India is great at creating programs that can ease down production processes. This includes automation.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
1. UPDATE OUR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Indians and Chinese both have what we need to do. It is an upgrade of our skills and knowledge. They go to training, seminars, and even enroll in Universities to learn more on systems processes and programming.
Stop thinking on a status quo level, today's industry demands competitiveness. Again no job is secure nowadays.
2. FIND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Recent findings show automation is here to stay. We have seen amazon do so with Amazon pay removing cashiers and replacing it with sensors and cameras.
The food industry is also moving towards the automation of its redundant process.
3. USE TIME WISELY
Instead of looking for the latest celebrity gossips or neighborhood gossips that put no value in your job or even in your financial life, use the time to understand the business world. You may opt-out to do what you want to do in your life and monetize it.
Use the time to upgrade yourself. Invest in yourself instead of stressing out on things that have no direct impact on your life.
It is our wish here that with the current changes affecting all industries, everyone will find what they want to do, and be successful in their lives.
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