Smart moves?

Watching the Military channel on cable TV an episode covered the Swedish aircraft industry. In talking about Saab they described the founding of the Saab Automobile company as a effort of the aircraft company to keep from laying off skilled workers and to keep the industrial base.

Now if the Swedes could understand the value of keeping skilled workers productive and their skills current and in keeping their industrial base current clear back in 1946, how come the US has forgotten these lessons?

Back in the day when I worked in electronics, we found a lot of product improvements and new products from building and repairing existing products. Without the input from the production floor, we would have missed significant improvements to our equipment.

Now, please explain to me why you would let go of the critical skills your business needs and eliminate one of the best learning laboratories your company has?