Automotive Scenarios from an Economic Development Standpoint

"When big guns such as General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. reorganize, restructure, close plants or plan to close plants based on the reality of their market share in North America, it affects suppliers -- from Tier 1 down." Source: Industry Week

News such as this has flooded the media over the past several months. It's like the plague, spreading from community to community across the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the world. What are we going to do about this situation? I would urge you NOT to waste your scarce incentive dollars on trying to prevent the inevitable. So, what do we do?

I would urge economic developers to adopt a proactive, forward-thinking perspective of the situation. I suggest we engage in some scenario building exercises. The process begins with an identification of the "right" questions to be asked and hopefully answered by the scenarios. I have my ideas, but want to see if you are really listening. What questions would you ask?

Click here and here to read about and learn more about scenario building.