Foreign Investment and American Jobs

Across this country, foreign companies have been acquiring existing businesses and starting new ones. Between 1980 and 1987, multinational corporations like Mitsubishi, Seagrams, Siemens, and Philips have quadrupled their ownership of American industry. They make everything from cars to clothing and sell everything from insurance to zippers. They refine oil, operate vineyards, lend money, and write advertising copy. Carnation, Mack Trucks, Brooks Brothers, Smith and Wesson, Ms. magazine, and Pillsbury are familiar “American” brand names owned by foreign investors. Foreigners have cut huge real estate deals and now own such major buildings as the ABC Building and ARCO Plaza. Ted Bates (advertising), CS First Boston (finance), Bloomingdales (clothing), and Hardees (food retailing) are examples of foreign-owned firms in the fast-growing service sector. The list is long, the industries diverse. Moreover, with this wave of investment carries new management practices, labor relations, and technology. Not only do foreign firms control more of the American economy, but they have become actively involved in politics, culture, philanthropy, and other aspects of community life.