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Microsoft's Wilsonville Jobs Are Going To China, Underscoring Travails of Domestic Tech Manufacturing (oregonlive.com)
An anonymous reader tips us a story: Just two years ago, Microsoft cast its Wilsonville factory as the harbinger of a new era in American technology manufacturing. The tech giant stamped, "Manufactured in Portland, OR, USA" on each Surface Hub it made there. It invited The New York Times and Fast Company magazine to tour the plant in 2015, then hired more than 100 people to make the enormous, $22,000 touch-screen computer. But last week Microsoft summoned its Wilsonville employees to an early-morning meeting and announced it will close the factory and lay off 124 employees -- nearly everyone at the site -- plus dozens of contract workers. Panos Panay, the vice president in charge of the Surface product group, traveled from corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, to tell the staff that Microsoft was moving production to the same place it makes all other Surface products. Though workers present say he didn't disclose the location, Microsoft has previously said it makes its other Surface computers in China. The company hasn't explained, in public or to its Wilsonville employees, why it gave up on domestic manufacturing so quickly and didn't respond to repeated inquiries for comment. But the only thing surprising about Microsoft's decision is that it tried to make its computers in the U.S. in the first place.
Frankly, there needs to be some compromise in the government. Let workers unionize, but also slap 300% tariffs on companies that do this.
The profit margin on the $22k Surface Hub wasn't quite high enough using U.S. employees.
Don't be fooled by your company's slogans; "profits" not "employees" are the company's most valuable asset. Remember what Veronica said in Better Off Ted (S1 E4: "Racial Sensitivity"), which was refreshingly honest:
"Money before people," that's the company motto. Engraved on the lobby floor. It just looks more heroic in Latin.
[ And, no, I'm not against companies making money, but there's more to it than that. ]
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Microsoft tried to make some Surface units in the U.S. because they thought of it as marketing.
Microsoft has ended the local manufacturing because the marketing doesn't seem to be returning the cost of the effort.
In short, Microsoft never actually cared about helping to regain some manufacturing in the U.S. They just wanted to *look* like they cared. None of it is a surprise in any way.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
We have two at work (one 84" and one 55") and so far they have worked pretty well for what they are supposed to do. It is up to management to decide if it was worth the cost in the end, but so far I haven't see any issues with them. Other companies MMV of course, but we have a lot of remote employees so it has worked out well for company wide video conferencing, white board for meetings, connecting laptops to it, etc.