A Scorecard for Families and Public Officials

What is an American Automobile? LFI's retiree supporters believe that determination is up to you. But if you want the car you buy to support jobs and investment in your community, you need to have the facts. Here is some information worth considering.

Automaker Jobs.

U.S. automakers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) employ two and a half times more U.S. workers (per car) than foreign automakers (including all the cars they make here). Even with recent buyouts, GM employs more Americans than all foreign-owned automakers combined. Ford's U.S. job "footprint" is about 20 times bigger than that of Hyundai. And Ford employs more U.S. workers at a single manufacturing facilitiy than Hyundai and VW employ nationwide. Honda is one of the largest, longest operating "transplant" manufacturers operating in the U.S., but it employs only 27,000 Americans, about a third of Chrysler's current total.

Supplier Jobs.

"Made in America" matters even more when you look at the men and women working for auto parts suppliers that serve automakers. These companies employ about twice as many Americans as the automakers themselves. And Ford, GM and Chrysler purchase nearly 80 percent of the parts these people make. Based on their market share, foreign automakers should be buying about twice what they are.

Research & Development.

Tomorrow's jobs will depend, in part, on today's R&D, particularly in fuel efficiency and safety. The Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), an association of 14 Japanese automakers doing business in America, notes that they collectively employ 3,600 R&D workers at 36 facilities nationwide. Honda operates 10 facilities employing 1,300 R&D professionals. Level Field welcomes these jobs, but more than 65,000 Americans (nearly 20 times JAMA's total) work in 215 automotive R&D facilities in Michigan alone.