Japanese Car Makers Found to Shy Away From Hiring Blacks

Japanese car makers hire significantly fewer blacks than their American counterparts in the industry, an 18-month study by the University of Michigan said today.

“Regardless of intent, the Japanese are creating far fewer opportunities for blacks . . . in an industry that has traditionally provided lots of opportunities for blacks,” said Bob Cole, a sociologist and co-author of the study.

Of the three Japanese assembly plants with full work forces, Honda Motor Co.’s Marysville, Ohio, plant employed the smallest percentage of blacks at 2.8% of its work force. The area surrounding the plant has a 10.5% black population.

Mazda Motor Corp.’s Flat Rock plant in downriver Detroit had a minority work force of 14.1% while the surrounding area is 29% black. The percentage of black workers at Nissan Motor Corp.’s Smyrna, Tenn., plant was 14%, and the area near the plant has a black population of 19.3%.

Cole said the study also found that the highest percentages of black workers were employed at traditional “Big Three” auto plants, those that have neither renovated nor rebuilt since 1980 and are in the greatest danger of closing.