US auto companies' ownership and control of production in Mexico's 'maquiladoras'

Abstract

Spatial restructuring of work across borders is an ongoing process that relies on heterogeneity of place. Strategic differentiation is key, as the ability of corporations to implement differences in the organisation of work and work practices facilitates the weakening of local labour forces. Taking the Mexican maquiladora automotive industry as an example of cross-border spatial restructuring, the paper asks if and how labour is undermined by (i) consciously constructed functional differences and (ii) the active exploitation of existing local differences. Strategic differentiation is heavily dependent on the specifics of place, while the specifics of place themselves can serve as additional, pre-existing sources of differentiation. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.