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Paper short abstract:

Innovation is a key issue in global firms. I will analyze how this has radically changed the training, performance and evaluation of engineers and technicians in the workplace and has a direct impact in their lifestyles in industrial Mexico.

Paper long abstract:

We are witnessing a critical transformation on the industrial production world-wide, specially, because of its centrality on innovation. This later is and will continue be a strategic resource in the global economy. Knowledge production, diffusion and control are key issue in industry. It has radically changed the training, performance and evaluation of engineers and technicians in the workplace. In this essay, I will analyze how this globalized productive dynamic of the automobile industry is experienced in the central region of Mexico and its impact in the workforce lifestyles. In order to achieve this, I present a space-place analysis, taking in consideration five planes: the first one is the supranational level of analysis, in order to understand the logic of the global production chains based on productivity and innovations. The second is the national-regional plane geared to understand the specific context where these subsidiaries are located. The third plane is specific trajectories of engineers and technicians in an individual basis. The fourth has to do with the livelihood of this workforce, being the unit of analysis their families. The last one is the impact on their social networks and communities, considering the changes and continuities in the workers' livelihood.