New threat to the RV industry?

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It means RV manufacturers might have to pay competitive wages. They get what they deserve.
 
Amazon was promised something, most likely tax incentives, or they wouldn’t be going there. I don’t know what the folks building the RV’s make but it seems those jobs are the only game in town. If Amazon moves in they will recruit some of those folks. They Maugham even offer better pay. There’s already a long lead time for new RV’s si imagine what this will create.
 
Take anything you read on RVTravel and cut the doom and gloom by at least half, maybe more. He has been heralding the demise of the RV industry for 10+ years. I would hate to know this guy in real life; what a negative life viewpoint he seems to have!
 
Maybe the RV manufacturers could get together and start a Workamper program and recruit RVers to staff their factories the way Amazon has been doing for their fulfillment centers? It might even improve the current build quality.
 
Lou Schneider said:
Maybe the RV manufacturers could get together and start a Workamper program and recruit RVers to staff their factories the way Amazon has been doing for their fulfillment centers? It might even improve the current build quality.
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Nice idea but I think most RV’ers would not put up with management insisting build quality did not matter; quotas are what matters.
 
I suspect that the RV factory jobs are already competitive in wages & benefits with an Amazon warehouse, but there will surely be some who prefer the positions that Amazon offers, for one reason or another.

I note that this article is yet another example of media speculation with few facts and little analysis. The writer could have researched local pay scales in RV-related jobs, compared working hours and benefits, etc. but didn't bother. Fear-mongering is indeed an apt description!
 
It may not be a bad thing to get RV manufacture away from Ekhart, and to some place with a better work ethic, higher quality control standards. As it stands now, it seems all of the RV manufacturers that have a better reputation are not based in Ekhart, Winnebago, Tiffin, even Foretravel are all based hundreds or thousands of miles from Ekhart.
 
To some it is all about creating a headline that will sell your own publication in your target market. I did some searching and the only one to suggest that it creates problems for the existing industry is RV Travel. Might they be the National Enquirer of the RV community?

Amazon Announces New Robotics Fulfillment Center and Delivery Station in Elkhart County, Creating More Than 1,000 New, Full-Time Jobs​

That is from Business Wire.
“Amazon’s decision to support Elkhart County is a huge vote of confidence in our workforce development initiatives,” said Suzanne Weirick, President Board of Commissioners, Elkhart County, IN. “The new, high paying jobs in the distribution technology sector also help diversify our local economy and protect us from the national economic fluctuations. Since investments by Amazon tend to attract related industries, we look forward to additional interest in Elkhart County by other high-tech companies.”
 
We definitely could an RV manufacturing plant here in central Fl...but then again the powers that be here don't recognize the need.They're basically interested in Dollar Stores and Auto Parts stores!!!
 
Maybe Amazon will sell RVs at their new brick and mortar stores.
 
Cameodon said:
Selling isn’t the problem, the problem is workmanship and getting service after you buy…
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I have been an RVer since 1972 and over the years have seen many manufacturers come and go. RV history is littered with failed RV manufacturers who tried to institute real quality control into their business but because that ads significantly to the price of the RV, the company either sold out to a manufacturer willing to cut corners and lower prices or the failed and became part of history. The only place that the RV industry has been able to support quality control expenses is in the part of the market where price is no factor in what the customer buys. There are a few who keep going even with the higher prices such as Bowlus or Liberty and several others in that market. But the majority of RV buyers choose more based on price that quality and so they cut corners to sell cheaper. If the majority of RV buyers would pay the cost of quality control the market would start spending the money to have it.
 
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