Is DJI leaving the US?
Multiple sources, are telling sUAS News that US repair and support staff have been laid off or are leaving by the end of this month. DJI apparently will only supply direct from China.
We spoke about what a big company might do last Tuesday in our weekly Hangout, mutters were beginning to happen and they are getting louder.
It is obvious that things will change across many aspects of life when the current Covid-19 emergency is over.
No doubt companies will have to regroup and consolidate operations. What that will eventually look like only time will tell.
DJI is under regulator scrutiny and the American market will only get harder to operate in for them. So rather let US companies try and comply and crack on with selling to bigger markets.
They are victims of there own success, nobody comes close on reliability and function. Subsequently they are competing against themselves.
I am getting a little miffed by companies touting not made in China products. That’s great but have you made a better product. A made in the US label is meaningless if the product costs twice as much and does half the job.
Intel have left the inspection and survey drone business, keeping only the lights on. (I had to sorry)
Skydio is the only other truly interesting home grown player in the USA, they will be annoyed with me saying it but all the others are either Me To bits builders no real innovation or military contractors that landed big contracts in the early days of the new drone world.
As the Chinese don’t actually say, may you live in interesting times
