Now that Delphi has declared bank-ruptcy, a whirlwind of rumors has begun swirling around our metal-forming industry. "What about Delphi this?" and "What about Delphi that?" are the beginnings for many conversations nowadays. The speculations about Delphi are rife with guesses about its future, that of its peers, competitors and their suppliers. "Is so and so the next to go?" "Will the bank..." "What will happen to our payments?" "What is my real exposure?" "Will... will... will...?" The metalforming world in which I have spent several decades is undergoing a tremendous shakeup, and I believe this is just the beginning of the final round of what has been in the works for many years-the globalization of component manufacturing. The struggle between the rights of the U.S. consumer of low prices has finally overtaken the expectations by those same consumers of good wages. The superstore won and Delphi lost. I'm afraid that it is that simple. After all, is it just a coincidence or the result of a massive restructuring of the American way of life to be reading headlines about bankruptcies by our traditional economic pillars such as Polaroid, Sunbeam, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Delphi and...? Just what's going on? Where does one hang one's hat in the middle of an earthquake?
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