The effects of globalisation on the South African automotive industry

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Since the late 80s and early 90s there has been a sustained debate on the concept ofglobalisation. This has been, to a larger extent, due to global industrial restructuringIn most countries the effects have been felt mostly in the manufacturing sector, andthese were evident in areas such as technology, employment pattern and compositionof labour force. Globalisation introduces a tendency to create a division of labourbetween a core of relatively well paid, skilled and secured workers, and a large poolof workers doing non-regular forms of work e.g. 'casual' jobs or part-time contracts,and with much of the work sub-contracted to companies with less unionised and lowpaid workers.This research assignment explores the effects that changes in global production haveon the South African automotive industry. As South Africa is becoming increasinglyintegrated into the world economy it certainly will not be unaffected by effects ofglobalisation. The auto industry, and Volkswagen in particular will be use as a case.The industry is one of the largest export industries in South Africa at the currentmoment, and is said to have embraced the realities of globalisation. It is also a fairlywell developed industry, technologically. The auto industry has always epitomised'Fordist' forms of production with inward-looking industrial activity. The waves ofchanges in the sphere of production globally have both positive and negative etfectson the automotive industry. They are spurring development and innovation in anailing industry, and thrusting it on a path towards 'world-class' manufacturing. On theother hand festructuring trend which is an outflow of global isation poses a great threaton employment patterns, and in the long run may lead toil'decline in formalemployment and introduction of non-regular forms of work e g. part-time, casualemployment, and subcontracting. This will happen as pressures mount on the industryin line with the logic of international competitiveness to rationalise and cut costs.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University