# Fender layoffs



## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

300 at the Corona, California factory.

Looks like things are about to become way more automated.

"On the Fender website’s careers page, there are currently 19 operations jobs with roles open, 18 of which are in the Corona factory. In May, there were only seven. The newly-recruiting jobs include robotics engineers, quality assurance inspectors, production planners, maintenance mechanics and safety directors."


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Holy Hannah!

That is a lot of people to lose. See, this is how the machines take over, once they come for our guitars, our families are next.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

That doesn't surprise me.

I see the same thing happening in our industry (Auto parts supplier). In order to compete with global labour costs, the only way we can be in the game is to automate over here.

It's a global supply chain (even though it's currently in tatters) and that can't be uninvented.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Milkman said:


> That doesn't surprise me.
> 
> I see the same thing happening in our industry (Auto parts supplier). In order to compete with global labour costs, the only way we can be in the game is to automate over here.
> 
> It's a global supply chain (even though it's currently in tatters) and that can't be uninvented.


Interestingly enough, I read an article on free training to encourage certain people to work in the auto industry (manufacturing). It seems like the training is much in line with increased automation. But I suppose that's been the standard in automobile manufacturing for some time.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Shopify, here in Ottawa (which many consider to be the successor to RIM/Blackberry, as far as big Canadian tech companies go), laid off 10% of their employees. Between the resumption of whatever pre-pandemic life was like, inflation, and supply-chain issues, a lot of companies that experienced large boosts in business during pandemic times are now "right-sizing".

I don't consider it cause for panic. You can only blow gum-bubbles up so big before they pop and end up all over your nose and beard. These companies are just trying to avoid that scenario.

Remember that Fender requires materials to make instruments, and all those materials require others to either harvest or produce them.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

mhammer said:


> Remember that Fender requires materials to make instruments, and all those materials require others to either harvest or produce them.


That's true, but if the auto parts industry example provided by @Milkman is any indication, I think some of those those businesses would be looking to automate as well. Or, they're located overseas.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Grab n Go said:


> That's true, but if the auto parts industry example provided by @Milkman is any indication, I think some of those those businesses would be looking to automate as well. Or, they're located overseas.


Yeah it's a quickly changing playing field and we're continuously making adjustments to avoid tariffs, mitigate transportation costs which are seeing inflation at a level far beyond normal, and comply with USMCA regulations among other factors.

At the end of the day, our customers won't buy from us because we're nice people. They will only award business to us if we meet market price, assuming we have the quality they expect and the delivery results and tech support they demand.

As well, there seems to be a pendulum effect in the context of local vs low cost country supply.

It seems to be about a five year cycle between being pushed to find local suppliers or sourcing from South East Asia or other LCC regions.

We almost need to have our assembly cells in tractor trailers.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

One can only speculate about the reason, still this is poor management. Especially after two years of guitar industry boom.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

If you want a bit more info:





Fender lays off 300 employees.


(Read the Youtube comments on link above - - many are from former employees who recently were laid off) Folks forget in 2020 Fender was absorbed by Servco- and they review every aspect of profit loss centers within the company every fiscal quarter. https://www.servco.com/business-areas/fender/...



www.thegearpage.net


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I know of someone recently hired to be a master builder who ended up going to another company before this happened. Curious to see how Fender does in the next year or two.

‘member G&L?


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

Budda said:


> I know of someone recently hired to be a master builder who ended up going to another company before this happened. Curious to see how Fender does in the next year or two.
> 
> ‘member G&L?


I was thinking something similar. There's enough talent there to form another guitar company.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Oh I just meant if Fender is putting out crap in 2023, buy a g&l haha


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## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

The way I look at it, and this logic has never failed me: whenever times get tougher, all entertainment is the first to suffer whether it's music, TV, movies, entertainment goods, etc..


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Budda said:


> I know of someone recently hired to be a master builder who ended up going to another company before this happened. Curious to see how Fender does in the next year or two.
> 
> ‘member G&L?



I wonder how many Fender guitars are actually built by "master builders".


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## Parabola (Oct 22, 2021)

Going back in Fender history, they were always meant to be mass produced instruments, that relied on whatever the top of the line tools, machines and processes existed to keep production numbers high and quality to a high degree. So I’m not surprised at all if they have found a way to introduce automation into the build processes along the way that have lead to layoffs.

Gibson has always seemed to rely on more skilled labor with hand done processes, however if you read their job postings, they seem to to have a mix of openings, some based in modern manufacturing skills (C&C, etc) and others in the skilled manual processes, like binding scrapers.

It’s a cutthroat business these days, and offshore manufacturers are making really good quality instruments, with much lower labour costs, and they are also much closer to the raw materials they need, reducing costs.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Milkman said:


> I wonder how many Fender guitars are actually built by "master builders".


Given it’s the top of the custom shop, the least of the ones they sell lol.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Eventually we'll all work for Amazon moving boxes from a truck to the front door until robots can do that too. We’ll be delivering mostly parts to keep all the household robots working.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

tomee2 said:


> Eventually we'll all work for Amazon moving boxes from a truck to the front door until robots can do that too. We’ll be delivering mostly parts to keep all the household robots working.



Someday, Robotic delivery trucks will deliver parts to the factory where robots build other robots.


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## amp boy (Apr 23, 2009)

automation......robots assembling guitars.......Dj's are musicians.


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