There is growing fear these days that the move to electric vehicles spells certain doom for a lot of low-skilled factory work. It mostly comes from the prediction, by Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess two years ago, that EVs will require 30 per cent less labour than gas guzzlers. He’s not alone, either.
Great change often brings pain, but how much? Certainly, the 135,000 people making engines and transmissions today are at risk. Engines require big metal castings, many more parts, and much more labour to build than electric motors and batteries, said manufacturing guru Sandy Munro of Munro and Associates. Electric motors require fewer workers and smaller factories, he said. Since those workers make up 20 per cent of auto labourers, that is the biggest part of what will get cut.
What about assembly workers? General Motors closed the Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant and cut or transferred more than 3,000 workers. Nearby, GM is building a battery plant that will employ one third as many, at lower pay. That means assemblers are doomed, right? Not really. Lordstown was closed because the plant made small cars that are no longer popular.
Elsewhere, GM’s $30 billion push into EVs means adding assembly jobs. The automaker will open its once-idle Detroit-Hamtramck plant next week to make the Hummer EV and Chevrolet Silverado electric pick-ups, plus the Cruise Origin autonomous shuttle. That plant had 1,200 workers when it was threatened with closure in 2019 – it will have double that in two years. The former Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will be making the Cadillac Lyriq and other electric models, adding workers along the way.
All in, United Auto Workers Vice President Terry Dittes said that the union is gaining assembly jobs as automakers prepare for a decade or more in which consumers will buy both internal combustion and electric vehicles.
At its investor presentation on October 6, GM showed a graph with about 40 vehicles for sale by its four brands today, with just a couple being EVs. By 2030, the company will offer 50 models for sale and more than half will be battery-powered. GM will need workers to build both of them.
There also will be opportunities for new workers with or without college degrees to work in an industry that never needed them until now. Ford and battery maker SK Innovation will build three US battery factories and an assembly plant, adding 11,000 workers. GM and partner LG Chem will build four battery plants, hiring 1,200 people each at its Ultium Cells joint venture.
Rana Abuhashim, a young chemical engineer who grew up near Lordstown in Youngstown, was working for Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Oklahoma. She has taken her skills and returned home for a job that did not exist six months ago. “It brought me back to Youngstown,” she said.
It might offer something similar for lesser-skilled workers, too. Few people have experience making battery cells. GM has enlisted Youngstown State University to find and train new workers. Most of them will be younger employees who may not have college degrees, but they do have some computer and analytical skills. Ultium is not really seeking experience in physical labour.
There is a question about how much money these workers will earn. Ultium says $16 to $22 an hour. Dittes plans to try to get the UAW into the plant and raise the pay. GM will not oppose the union, so it will become a matter of bargaining for something closer to the $32 an hour that senior union workers get now. Ford and SK will probably be in a similar situation. Even if there is a fight about pay, the jobs will be there.
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6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
9.30pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
More on Quran memorisation:
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
