Publisher's Synopsis
There has been much debate in recent years about how labour intensive firms in high wage economies have responded to the globalization of production. This book addresses this issue by providing a detailed examination of recent changes in the UK clothing industry. As an archetypal labour intensive industry and one that has faced stiff competition from overseas manufacturers, it provides a rich body of information on both the problems faced by domestic manufacturers and the sorts of strategic responses adopted by some firms. The various chapters focus on different aspects of restructuring and attempts to reorganise production. In addition to an historical background and descriptive summaries of employment patterns, these include discussions of production outsourcing to low wage countries; use of ethnic minorities as a low wage domestic labour force; technological innovations and their impact upon skill and the genderised division of labour; and new team-working production techniques.
