Source: http://wardsauto.com/engines/top-100-auto-suppliers-could-suffer-electrification-shift?NL=WAW-04&Issue=WAW-04_20170731_WAW-04_95&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_3&utm_rid=CPENT000000095975&utm_campaign=13218&utm_medium=email&elq2=866055de6cf44d68878ed6633b34bf3f . . . some automotive suppliers are being forced to make strategic moves as a result of this huge disruption that potentially will impact the industry. For example, the SchaefflerGroup supplies 40 to 50 bearings for internal-combustion engines and transmissions. Battery EVs would need only a handful. “The fact of the matter is that the disruption, whether it happens 10 or 20 years from now, is having an impact on the supply base,” Eichenberg says. . . . Perhaps a little optimistic about electrification, how many decades did horse and early cars co-exist? Still, the buggy whip market once collapsed along with coal-oil lamps e.t.c. Bob Wilson
Wow, I honestly didn't even think of this. While demand for auto parts aren't going to suddenly drop overnight, I hope they're thinking about this eventuality, and attempting to plan for it. Otherwise we'll get lots of sad news reports of how Big Electron is killing off those poor suppliers who make gas engine parts 15-20 years from now. And how this happened all of a sudden, even though there were warning signs today about this potential problem. It kind of reminds me of how Blockbuster kind of sat on their laurels and dismissed Netflix, with its DVD-by-mail business model, and later internet streaming, as a trivial thing that they wouldn't have to worry about. And for a while, they were right, as Netflix was in danger of going bankrupt, and even offered to sell itself to Blockbuster, but was refused. Fast forward and Netflix is now much more powerful than it was just a decade ago. They're so strong now in fact, that they're even paying movie studios to create exclusive content for their site. Come to think of it, Tesla found itself in a very similar situation early on as well. Lots of delays and cost overruns on the Roadster, and they were also in danger of going bankrupt. The financial crisis in 2008 certainly didn't help any either. Fortunately they managed to hang on long enough to create the Model S, which helped it to survive and eventually create the Model 3, which will hopefully have people who may not otherwise have considered an electric car to start seriously considering buying one.
attrition will probably work over the next generation, layoffs may be unnecessary. however, young people should be encouraged to think carefully about their choice of vocation.
There will always be a market for good automotive technicians. They'll just have to skill up and learn how to handle electric and hybrid cars, or go the way of the dinosaur.
Or find another field in which their skills can apply. A former poster's husband went from a Toyota tech to medical equipment one.
