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  • Can the new, Industrie 4.0 production technologies make high-wage locations more competitive in comparison to low-wage locations and even bring back production which was offshored in the past? This Discussion Paper tries to answer this question using data about the division of labor between German and Central Eastern European plants of automotive suppliers. It focuses on three sub-questions: Is there still a technology gap between high-wage and low-wage locations? Which criteria determine the choice of poduction technologies in high-wage and low-wage regions? How important regarding the implementation of modern production technologies are in particular skill structures on the shop floor? The analysis shows that the technology gap between high-wage and low-wage locations has nearly disappeared. Due to the combination of high cost competition and high quality requirements, new production technologies are implemented by companies very quickly across all their global operations. Despite this trend, however, German plants continue to be the preferred sites (at least for German companies) in which new products and production technologies are implemented for the first time. An important reason is the proximity to the research and development centers of car manufacturers and of automotive suppliers as well as to the equipment manufacturers which facilitates cooperation. This lead role of German plants leads to different skill structures on the shop floor when compared with Central Eastern Europe. Even if considering highly automated plants only, German operations deploy less unskilled and semi-skilled workers and focus more on the use of vocational skills. The main reason for this difference is the skills and competences required in the cooperation between production and product development, planning or the equipment manufacturers. This lead role and the ccorresponding skills on the shop floor represent an advantage of German plants in comparison to their Central Eastern European competitors which can be mobilized in the case of Industrie 4.0 concepts, too. The data and research results discussed in this paper were collected and developed in the project "Perspectives of the Automotive Supplier Industry" which was funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation. (xsd:string)
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  • 2016 (xsd:gyear)
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  • 2016 (xsd:gyear)
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  • Technologie, Qualifikationen und internationale Arbeitsteilung: Anmerkungen zu der Diskussion über Industrie 4.0 (xsd:string)
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  • Arbeitspapier (xsd:string)
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  • GESIS-SSOAR (xsd:string)
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  • SP III 2016-301 (xsd:string)