Today Ford closed it’s doors
1600 workers in Geelong are now out of work
I’m told that
1/3 will never work again
1/3 will find work in a similar field and
1/3 will take the opportunity to try something new
Ford was an iconic Australian company that try as it might could not keep up with globalisation
Now more than ever there is no job security
The old day of working for the same company for 50 years are dead and buried
Even with millions of dollars in government subsidies and huge punitive taxes for companies importing cars from overseas
Ford still didn’t manage to keep it’s doors open.
That’s the never ending march of innovation for you
Thousands of retail businesses have closed in recent times too
All fell by the way side as we shop online more and more
Online shopping (ecommerce) has been growing at a 20% clip for the last 10 years in Oz!
and they say we’ve had a real state boom!!
It’s nothing compared to the ecommerce boom and unlike real estate the market can go up a LOT more yet.
So what to do?
Embrace the new or try and hang onto the past?
Clearly trying to stop a trend like globalisation is not going to work (just ask Ford)
So the smart ones will embrace ecommerce and globalisation
Buy your goods in China/India cheaply and then sell them in The Western World for a profit
It’s a tried and tested strategy that’s worked for centuries
Heck Australia was “found” by a trader (Cook) looking for new products to sell!
So I say embrace the new!
Letting go of the past can be tough but life is constantly evolving and so must we
Neil