Maytag and Globalism

The genius of capitalism

This is heartbreaking. This is one of the most unpatriotic, most un-American things I can imagine a company doing. They want Americans to buy their products, but they don't want to put Americans to work making those products.
― Aaron Kemp, a worker at the Maytag plant in Galesburg, Illinois, December 26, 2002. Maytag is closing the Galesburg plant (average hourly wage of $15.14) and moving the work to Reynosa, Mexico (average hourly wage of $2). Union, city and state concessions to Maytag have totaled over $10.5 million since 1994.

In today's environment you have to be focused on cost.
― Efraim Levy, a Standard & Poor's appliance industry analyst, December 26, 2002. Wall Street analysts applauded the closing announcement, and Maytag's stock rose 6%.

It's not that Maytag can't still make money in the United States, it's that they can't make enough money.
― Dave Bevard, vice president of the Galesburg machinists' local, December 26, 2002. Maytag executives have refused to say whether the plant is profitable.