The main cause for current Avtovaz difficulties is because their cars are very bad. They car produced use to be very rusty, the engines are far from being durable, and the overall quality is very, very bad. The workers of Avtovaz, together with workers from their supplying companies, should think about that! It is around 100000 workers in Avtovaz and perhaps yet more, say 200000 of their suppliers, which amounts at around 300000. Now, do they believe that 150 million Russians ought to be hostages of these 300000? It is not about their cars are of an old design, but the main problem is quality: the Lada cars are simply assembled with too much of negligence. There is a widespread opinion that even a 1988 produced VW will last longer than a new Lada machine. The workers, engineers, and managers of Lada factories should bear that in mind.

I am pleased that the report acknolwedges that the cars are 'outdated'. I am surprised to learn that Russia is still producing such outdated machines, especially if the Avtovaz company is part owned by Renault. In the UK we had a vehicle making company back in the 1970's that seemed to exist just to pay its workforce. The products were of poor quality, poor reliability, and were overpriced, especially when compared to the Japanese and European competition. The workforce were also not interested in quality, with stories of workers sleeping through the night shift, using hammers to get poorly made parts to fit, and even unpainted cars being left outside and then 'sprayed whilst wet from rain / condensation / frost. This company faced oblivion but restructured, parts of it sold off, old machinery replaced, staff retrained, and foreign partners found. Sometimes a company needs to be allowed to stare collapse 'down the barrel' so to speak in order to shake things up. I do not wish to see anyone loose their jobs, but sometimes the threat of unemployment is needed to motivate and focus a workforce. I am sure their are enough bright and forward thinking people associated with this company to help it restructure itself and shift production from the old ways, even if they end up producing a totally different product. At least jobs will be saved.

Welcome to the NEW WORLD ORDER, so coveted by Pres. Bush senior. People now unemployed by the millions all over the world. Yes, this high sounding NEW WORLD ORDER has caused a lot of misery worldwide {except for the rich}.