This article attempts to expose the contradictions embedded in lean production by examining the early stages of transition from a Fordist to ‘lean’ model at the Toledo Jeep Assembly Plant in north-west Ohio. Initial research was conducted during 1999 and 2000 — prior to the opening of the new production facility — and is based on interviews with production workers, UAW representatives, and plant management, in addition to direct observations and content analyses of DaimlerChrysler documents. The effort is seen as part of a larger literature that deals with changing perceptions of, resistance to, and acceptance of new forms of work.
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