Fuyao Glass America (FGA) is an auto glass manufacturing facility in Moraine, Ohio. This case builds upon the story presented in the documentary film American Factory, which outlines how the Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., Ltd. purchased a closed General Motors plant to launch a US facility that leveraged the Group's Chinese manufacturing expertise. Students are asked to propose a change-management plan for the executive management team to create an inclusive, engaging workplace that bridges cultural differences and attracts and retains the skilled workers necessary to make this facility successful. The case picks up where the American Factory documentary ends, asking students to consider how they might address the challenges faced by FGA's management team as they attempt to expand their manufacturing techniques in the US. In particular, FGA's leadership wrestles with the following: (1) creating an inclusive, engaging workplace that bridges cultural differences; (2) overcoming the talent management challenges revealed during the unionizing effort by the United Auto Workers; and (3) attracting and retaining skilled workers.
This case shares FGA's management challenges from the perspectives of the president and CEO of FGA from 2016 to 2022, and the director of HR/employment management at FGA during most of that time. The two executives share information about FGA's talent management practices and the initiatives implemented between 2017 and 2020 to address issues related to the management challenges and employee concerns raised in the documentary and in media accounts.
