On Tue, 2004-12-28 at 10:57 -0500, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > On Tue, 28 Dec 2004, Globe Trotter wrote: > > > Walmart sells their employees, too! For under $5 an hour (when > > averaged over the time they have to spend unpaid and locked in) and > > no benefits. So, they show up in your city's ER and your local taxes > > go up.... > > i didn't want to wander into the political arena here, but there is > one extra piece of information i wanted to add. (and, yes, this has > relevance to laptops.) > > a while back, a friend told me that one of the ways wal-mart can > keep prices so low (and also even keep *lowering* them year after > year) is that, when they sign a contract with a supplier, that > contract typically states that what wal-mart will pay the supplier per > unit will *drop* each year. so, you the supplier, will get $1.50 per > unit the first year, but only $1.35 the second year, and $1.25 the > third year. how you choose to cut costs year after year to remain > profitable is *your* problem. if you don't accept such onerous terms, > wal-mart just moves on to another supplier. Same thing in the auto industry ... I work for an automotive parts supplier and the big three tend to want 7% or more cost reductions each year. The first couple years are good, but by the end of the program you typically not making any money and hoping for the next new program so that you can start making money again. Being a supplier to any large company where they are your primary source of income leaves you more vulnerable than the large corp. Regards, Paul
