Sudden Departures of People in Critical Jobs Leave Companies With Holes

©iStock/Gregory Rodriguez

In recent months, immigrants working in manufacturing, food production and other industries have lost their jobs due to President Trump's immigration policies — not as a result of immigration raids, but because Trump ended Biden-era programs that had provided them temporary permission to remain in the U.S. and get jobs.

Those affected include more than a half-million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who had been granted humanitarian parole for two years through a program known as CHNV — an acronym for the countries it covered. The changes also affect close to 1 million immigrants who were allowed into the U.S. after securing appointments at the U.S.-Mexico border via a U.S. government app.

See where things stand now but here's one important statement:  "The people is not illegal," [Michel Ange Lucas, who builds refrigerators for GE Appliances] says. "Politics made them illegal. But they was never illegal."

Is India the Future?

©iStock/Henk Bogaard

In a global marketplace reshaped by volatile forces — not least the animosity between the United States and China — India shows signs of emerging as a potentially significant place to manufacture products. 

Yet the trouble is they – in India – are slow.  Slow on samples.  Slow on producing.  Slow on deliveries.  Can we afford the wait?

Read:  For American Brands Worried About China, is India the Future?

Today in Global Small Business: Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) Dominate 2021?

©iStock/Andy

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Globally Local, one of the world’s first vegan fast-food chains, announced it will begin publicly trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GBLY on April 16, 2021.  Interesting name‎!
• Pandemic shipping delays and product scarcity could last through summer 2021.
• Cryptocurrency (bitcoin) is increasingly being used for transactions and is beginning to go mainstream – and global – as an investment.
• Quote of the week:  "Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history.  Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks." – Stephen Hawking
• Will artificial intelligence dominate 2021?
• The future of the workforce – robotics and manufacturing.

Complications: Trade Deficits, Currency Manipulation and the Strong Dollar

©iStock/NiseriN

Trade deficits, currency manipulation and the strong dollar are complicated economic forces that directly affect the future of American manufacturing. 

Here's a look at how they affect manufacturing and why we must do something around these issues, regardless of the politics. 

SME10X and UPS Unveil Highlights from Joint SME E-commerce Survey

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UPS intended to evaluate the current shipping behaviors among Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) businesses in the UAE and to gain perspective on their shipping and logistics needs in the near future.

SME10X covered a large sample of over 5,000 SMEs across identified sectors such as Manufacturing, Services and Trading, and has completed 1,153 surveys at the time of this report.

Read the report to gain useful insights for your business.

SEE SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS ->

Note:  Study conducted August – December, 2019 (pre-global pandemic)

Manufacturing For a Global Customer Base