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Footjoy plant closing

That is right Bakemono. It was that the balls are going to be made in their Asian plant soon.
 
Bakemono said:
Thats my main problem with this. Its difficult to want to believe in the, "be American, buy American" theory when so many American companies have no problem putting Americans out of work all to save a little money.
I dont think there are any golf shoes that are made in the U.S. anymore. I know that my Greenjoys say, "MADE IN CHINA" on them.
I doubt that Callaway golf shoes are made in the U.S.
I did a quick search and didnt come up with any American-made golf shoes.
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What I get a kick out of is these companies lack of understanding that the more people they put out in the US the lower their own sales go. Guess they missed that while getting their MBA's.
 
That is not really true Lefte. It seems Nike footwear has done just fine for years.
 
LefTe said:
What I get a kick out of is these companies lack of understanding that the more people they put out in the US the lower their own sales go. Guess they missed that while getting their MBA's.
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Its quite simple: its all about profits.
 
HardcoreLooper said:
I just sent a message to Bite shoes to see where their shoes are made, as they are my current favorite brand.
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They just got back to me. All of their shoes are made in China.
 
Bakemono said:
Its quite simple: its all about profits.
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Yes. They are a business in a capitalistic society(at least it is for the moment). Your point is?
 
JB said:
That is not really true Lefte. It seems Nike footwear has done just fine for years.
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I was speaking in generality that as more US plants no matter what they produce sales drop in everything right along with it. Reading my post I know it seemed as if I was refering only to shoes.
 
Bakemono said:
Its quite simple: its all about profits.
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Your right it is all about profit without a doubt. However it was short term profit for most companies as reflected in the current economy. Looking just at say golf shoes....just how many Chinese workers buy golf shoes? How many US workers use to buy golf shoes? Honestly I don't know the answer I have an opinion but that is not fact based on data. It's not just the Exec's compensation nor the Union guy's hourly wage nor the cost of health care etc. It's all of it rolled into one we allowed ourselves to become inefficient and uncompetitive. Entertainers, Sports Figures making money beyond reason. I get a kick out of the thought process the an athlete has only a limited number of years to make their money so they need to be paid enough so they can retire and not work again. What they can't get a job after they hang em up? I mean is there a better job in the world then being paid to play a kids game, not my words those came right out of Gump Worsley's mouth. Exec's who run companies into the ground and they recieve large amounts of compensation to go away?? The unskilled worker who feels they deserve the same compensation as the Skilled Trades person??? The company I work for is heading into negotiations this July we supply to the Automotive OEM's. The union thinks at this time that there will be increases in this contract I hardly think that is possible. If they had been smart they would have asked for the contract to be extended by a year to see what the economy does. At the sametime management in years passed instead of caveing to their demands to keep profits flowing needed to force the issue to the front so we would be profittable for the long run. Lots of blame to go around on all fronts so I guess it really boils down to greed on all fronts. I'm new here and I trust no one takes this as an attack by any measure on anyone as we're all in the soup together as it were.
 
actually i think that only the pro v's are made here... the nxt's and the rest are made in china...edit.....i just reached around behind me here and grabbed an unopened box of pinnacle platinum feel.....guess what....made in the U.S. of A baby... i knew there was a reason i liked them balls....
 
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Sir Shanksalot said:
Yes. They are a business in a capitalistic society(at least it is for the moment). Your point is?
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My point is that they are a business that is in it to make money. If they can save a few bucks by shipping their operations out of the USA to to some other country with cheaper labor, they will and will think nothing of the people they put out of work.
Meanwhile, the fatcats and bigwigs sit back collecting their huge salaries and yearly bonuses, grinning ear to ear.
Thats my point. It makes it awful hard to believe in the, "be American, buy American" slogan when American companies wont hesitate to put Americans out of work if that means they can make even the slightest little bit more profit.
 
Bakemono. While I agree with you to an extent, it is not always like that. I own a business and every one of my employees out earns me. Yet if I could outsource my labor I would in a minute because in many ways it can MAKE OR BREAK a company. Some companies do not have a choice. It is the only way to survive. it is not always about the head of the company making a fortune. Sometimes it is just about having to do it to survive.
 
Harry Longshanks said:
It's too long to cut and paste here, but today on the FJ Blog website, the President of FJ posted a statement about the closing of the Brockton, MA factory.

http://www.footjoyblog.com/2009/03/05/fj-classics-update-from-jim-connor/
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Long story short; the market for Classics dried up and Acushnet was no longer making enough money to keep the factory open.
I find it interesting how he talks about all the people and how much they are craftsmen, yet they chose to just close the plant down instead of changing the plant over to make the shoes that are currently made in Asia.
I do understand where he is coming from, but I still think it sucks.
 
JB said:
Some companies do not have a choice. It is the only way to survive. it is not always about the head of the company making a fortune. Sometimes it is just about having to do it to survive.
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Its hard to believe that when you have the executives of these big companies flying around in private jets, making $100,000+ a year (and getting huge bonuses) and going away for weekends at luxury resorts, claiming that its, "work-related".
Its interesting how these executives always talk about how sacrafices must be made, yet its always the blue-collar workers who make the sacrafices and its almost never the mucky-mucks in the head office.
 
Some of the major fortune 50 companies are doing that. Most large corporations do not operate that way. And I know for a fact that FJ does not operate that way. Not all white collar employees are bad. Some worked very hard to get where they are.
 
Bakemono said:
My point is that they are a business that is in it to make money. If they can save a few bucks by shipping their operations out of the USA to to some other country with cheaper labor, they will and will think nothing of the people they put out of work.
Meanwhile, the fatcats and bigwigs sit back collecting their huge salaries and yearly bonuses, grinning ear to ear.
Thats my point. It makes it awful hard to believe in the, "be American, buy American" slogan when American companies wont hesitate to put Americans out of work if that means they can make even the slightest little bit more profit.
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You act like wanting to make a profit is evil. Maybe you should be asking why it has become prohibitively expensive to operate a business in the US, and especially some states. Could it be unions? Taxes? Healthcare? A combination?
Who are these 'fatcats' and bigwigs' anyway? I own a business and I make a profit. I took all the risks, signed on the dotted line for any loans, bought the property my business is in. The greater risk the greater reward. In my small business, if my profits went down I would probably fire some employees. Staff salaries are my biggest expense. I'd feel badly but these are the realities of running a business. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made. The first sentence of the Footjoy statement said it was the toughest decision they ever had to make. I believe them.
 
Sir Shanksalot said:
I own a business and I make a profit. I took all the risks, signed on the dotted line for any loans, bought the property my business is in. The greater risk the greater reward. In my small business, if my profits went down I would probably fire some employees. Staff salaries are my biggest expense. I'd feel badly but these are the realities of running a business. Sometimes tough decisions need to be made. The first sentence of the Footjoy statement said it was the toughest decision they ever had to make. I believe them.
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You hit the nail on the head with that one.
 
LefTe said:
...I get a kick out of the thought process the an athlete has only a limited number of years to make their money so they need to be paid enough so they can retire and not work again. What they can't get a job after they hang em up?
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No, it's a supply and demand thing (or at least it should be). Elite athletes are in very short supply and very high demand. Now, if you're an idiot owner and spend way too much on high-priced talent and lose money, I just hope you're not coming to the TARP window for a bailout. I can see it now... A-Rod starts underperforming because of that cyst and Steinbrenner asks the Fed to buy out his contract because he's a toxic asset.

LefTe said:
...Exec's who run companies into the ground and they recieve large amounts of compensation to go away??
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This is a tough one to swallow, I know. But these guys are actually quite a bit like NFL football players. It's all about the guaranteed dollars. A new CEO may be a complete bust and be run out of town after only a year or two (theoretically, at least -- how do you explain Rick Wagoner at GM?), so he lines up that golden parachute before he ever walks in the door. How you can live with yourself for accepting that much money for failing, that's another story altogether.

LefTe said:
...I'm new here and I trust no one takes this as an attack by any measure on anyone as we're all in the soup together as it were.
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Amen to that, brother. Amen.
 
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