I watched the video. So my understanding is, these were only US Fender employees, not worldwide. And the main reason is because a bunch of International made Fender products are sitting in a warehouse somewhere unsold? The guy was hard to follow in his explanation of things. At any rate, this sux.
Yeah, that was my take. Basically a bunch of suits like making rent on the backs of Chinese girls, all the while dumping on a legendary US mfg facility. -Bill.
US employees are for the most part paid higher than non USA based employees. Most companies just look at the bottom line and have little to no loyalty to employees or their location. It is all about costs.
I thought it was mostly second shift and some product managers. My guess is they are adjusting to the demand/production schedules of the Fender USA guitars. They can’t make Fender USA overseas or in Mexico.
Nor should they, IMO. I can see a bit more affordable Mexican counterpart, but really ...crippling US production of decent gear in favor of Asian crap? I am a service tech for this stuff (no relation to any brand or make) and I can tell you that the new Asian stuff, specifically the mainland China stuff is junk. -Bill
The Fender Classic Vibe series is pretty solid and, I believe is made in Korea or China. Fender Japan is pretty nice too, but much of that doesn’t make it to the us. Gretsch stuff coming from Japan and China is pretty solid, as well. I am not a guitar tech, so I don’t get to see problems.
I get crap every time I say buy Made In USA , this is what happens when you don’t. American labor has been going overseas since the 70’s and 80’s. This is the fall out from that . Thank you corporate greed .
Most of my system except for BluRay player and SMS 1 is Made In USA , those are made in China My DACs are made in Greece and Germany and are excellent quality . One tuner is Canadian the other is US. Amps , preamp and speakers are USA. I’m not saying everything made in China is bad , but I’ll avoid Chinese when I can. They cut too many corners. B.O.M. on most stuff is the cheapest way out almost every time. Bean counters will save penny everywhere they can without respect to quality
I try buying things made as close to where I live, as possible. Often times this means finding a used version (before production was moved), or simply going without.
I can't comment on build quality lately, but does Fender USA really need to make the simple Strat/Tele line so confusing? There are literally dozens of models for each - and it's often hard to tell the difference. Marketing seems overly cluttered with these model variations.
Rotel has had a factory in China for decades and their quality is excellent. The same can be said for Eastman and Blueridge guitars. I think you have to look at manufacturers independently. Sure, there is some low quality stuff coming out of China, but there is also high quality stuff.
In 2017, the Washington Post published an article, The Death of the Electric Guitar, describing the "slow, secret death" of the electric guitar. It painted a picture of Guitar Center and the two large manufacturers, Gibson and Fender, being up to their neck in debt, and the third largest manufacturer, PSR, laying off staff to make way for producing cheaper guitars. Gruhn Guitars was quoted in the article describing the market was not growing, calling the business "not sustainable". Then in 2020, the New York Times published an article, Guitars Are Back, Baby, talking about the surprising surge in guitar sales during the pandemic. The manufacturers and retailers could not keep up with demand. Now Guitar Center has filed for bankruptcy, Sweetwater was sold to private equity, Fender has too much inventory and is laying off staff ... It's been a wild ride for the guitar industry these past few years.
It’s simple math too - guitars tend to survive but people don’t. It’s been nearly 70 years since mass production of the modern electric guitar started, there are a heck of a lot more instruments than players. And as players get older they sell off collections. Supply and demand.
With stereo equipment (and many products), a novice who wants to get into great sound can jump into hobby at their price point, high or low, and enjoy it immediately. Guitars are an odd industry in that you have to get the customer to learn to play the guitar, then later you sell them the expensive models. Few beginners, even if they have money, will buy a custom shop guitar or a vintage Les Paul as their first one to learn how to chord. You have to keep feeding cheap guitars into the market to get people to learn to play guitar, then move them up the price ladder over time. I have seen guitars dealers discuss whether vintage Les Pauls will collapse in value once the boomer generation passes. Aging boomers with money have been driving up the prices of vintage Les Pauls. But there doesn't seem to be a younger generation interested in inheriting the Les Paul as their guitar of choice. As between Gibson and Les Paul, Gibson seems focused on selling expensive, high-quality guitars to older guitar players, while Fender has been focused on selling cheaper guitars to beginners. Like the 1980s, before Slash re-popularized it with his Les Paul (which was actually a copy), you don't seem to see a lot of Gibsons (or Les Pauls) being favored by younger musicians.
It’s been wild for a lot of manufacturers. Crazy spending during the pandemic wasn’t going to last. Supply chain isles are being worked through. However, big box retailers also have a surplus of small appliances, home goods, outdoor furniture, etc. It just isn’t guitars and amps. For Fender USA, the entry point appears to be at $1,399. That is a lot of money for some people. Fender Mexico have an entry point of $850 which isn’t cheap, either. It’s quite possible the economics are indicating that they don’t need to make as many of these models.
Gibson utilizes Epiphone to sell their entry level stuff. It’s hard to say what young guitarists are gravitating towards because it’s so trendy. Jazzmasters/Jaguars, Telecasters, SG’s, and 335s all have had a run of being the trendy guitar the past 10-15 years. Gretschs also appear to be more popular. In Nashville, you see a lot more PRS and Gibson’s in the Country touring arsenals than you used to.