Yu Dynasty Yingdala (4338-4636)

[Wu Han]

Car Manufacturing Giant to Close Indralan Plant
Yukinari Motor Corporation announce they are relocating their Hazhou operation abroad
6th December 4255


Nationalist Party leader Wen Baturu blamed the government for the news

Sekowan car manufacturing firm Yukinari Motor Corporation (YMC) have announced they will cease producing their Flora model in the Indralan port city of Hazhou. Beginning next year, the company will scale-back their involvement in Indrala, leaving thousands of employees uncertain about their future. According to a statement from their Chief of Indralan Operations, Indralan import tariffs recently imposed by the government were too high for the YMC to continue operating sustainably in the country. Instead, the Flora would be manufactured in neighbouring Mikuni-Hulstria, where existing facilities would be expanded and upgraded.

For decades, the Hazhou economy has been heavily reliant on the Yukinari plant. In some families, as many as seven or eight consecutive generations have been employed at the location. Despite numerous obstructions, such as a global financial crisis and a turbulent domestic political climate, the industry had remained robust. At one time, there were suggestions that the firm may even expand their Indralan operation by building a plant in the north of country. Pro-business policy has been one thing firms could rely on from the Indralan government, even when nothing else seemed certain. However, the Republic's Conservatives have undermined that trust by imposing tariffs on imports, significantly increasing the cost of bringing materials into the country from elsewhere.

The Indralan Transport Workers Union (ITWU) has responded to the news by calling on the government to immediately lower the tariffs and guarantee Indralan jobs. Wen Baturu, the leader of the Nationalist Party spoke at an ITWU event where accused the government of being 'aggressively anti-worker and anti-Indrala'. Referring also to their decision to drastically increase the retirement age, which drew widespread criticism from the elderly as well as unions, he prophesied that the governing party would be 'decimated' in the next general election. Banturu has reportedly spoken with Lotus Party leader Wu Hán regarding areas of mutual concern, such as the government's extreme employment reforms.

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Originally posted by jamescfm on 12 August 2017.