I have been following the NUMMI plant (in Fremont California) in a haphazard way since it was opened as joint venture by Toyota and GM in the 1980s. I have visited a few times and talked to lots of folks from GM, Toyota, and NUMMI since its inception. As most of you probably know, the plant is closing on April 1. It is just a shame for many reasons, the jobs lost, the failure of GM to learn what they should have from the joint venture, the feelings of helplessness and on and on.
If you want to learn about the plant's history from its birth to (nearly) its death, check out the astounding episode of This American Life, a compelling tale of how it went from the worst of the worst GM plants (drug use and drinking were routine on the line, and you could buy sex in the plant — and the quality and cost numbers were awful), to how Toyota started the NUMMI plant (the only unionized Toyota plant in the country) with a workforce composed (85%) of the same people who worked at that awful plant, how they retrained them in Japan, how these same workers once put in a different system started making some of the highest quality cars in the U.S. — even the world – from the day the plant opened, to all the twists and turns including how Toyota itself is repeating some of the same mistakes that nearly killed GM, and onto the near final sadness.
I am a big fan of This American Life and I think this is one of their best episodes ever. The lessons about the power of a good — versus a lousy — system are especially compelling, as is the rather pathetic tale of GM's inability to learn from NUMMI. Their quality still trails behind most of the rest of the world now, over 25 years since the NUMMI plant opened.
Fascinating stuff. I will start assigning this episode to my classes, there are so many great lessons and it is so emotionally compelling.
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