There is an Associated Press story in Business Week today about Danny Glover asking the people who attending the Oscar Awards Ceremony on Sunday not to wear clothes by Hugo Boss. There are 375 Hugo Boss employees in Cleveland, Ohio, who will lose their jobs next month because the German company is closing the plant.
The article points out:
"The company says the plant is not globally competitive and under capacity. The union says the plant is profitable and the company is shuttering it because it can make clothing more cheaply in Europe."
As much as I hate to see anyone lose their job, the company is entitled to manufacture goods in whatever location is most profitable for the company. Has it occurred to Mr. Glover that if the company paid less money in taxes and dealt with fewer government regulations, they might be more profitable? Is Mr. Glover aware that the average combined federal and state corporate tax rate in the U.S. is 39.3 percent? If you want to see more Americans retain their manufacturing jobs, lower the corporate tax rate and reduce the amount of federal regulations on businesses. Until those things are done, America will continue to lose manufacturing jobs (and other jobs) overseas.
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