Offshoring a Threat to Mexico

As more corporations look to serve the North American market, the competition for corporate manufacturing facilities and their respective jobs has increased. Canada, the United States, and Mexico are all vying to attract new companies and keep existing firms. Increasingly, these countries are seeing an exodus of manufacturing jobs to China and other low-cost labor locations. Even Mexico, which has been a major magnet for manufacturing growth due to its low wages, has now seen companies leaving for the even lower wages in China.

To help stem this exodus, many state, provincial, and local governmental bodies in Canada, Mexico, and the United States have developed incentive programs to lure and keep corporations. And incentives are not limited to the much-publicized giant auto assembly plants — many are available for projects with as few as 50 new jobs. Incentives are proving to be a critical factor when combating the attractiveness of lower-cost labor in Asia.

Is fighting back with incentives enough? My guess is that it is not! More here.