What is the value of a fixed price that is not guaranteed?

Sorry, doesn’t fit the topic 100 %, but by the time some start, prices have already gone up another 10 %.. :D

They do it with quantity. That’s why there are many sub-teams with different nationalities, where vaccination or compliance with AHAs is not necessarily addressed, the latter being less observed. Therefore, the client might have to take more expensive teams from the surrounding area at short notice or pay an additional charge themselves because they need the team on short notice. He does not want to be stuck with that. The higher-priced ones might have their own teams or a few fixed craftsmen, do not build in mass, and can better assess their craftsmen.

How fortunate that our general contractor had almost only their own teams, where vaccination or similar was never discussed either, and who are also not among the higher-priced. Exceptions surely prove the rule, but in my personal experience, the points mentioned have nothing to do with each other....

How fortunate that our general contractor almost exclusively had their own crews,

I struggled a lot with myself about whether I should quote Albert Borland in post #12 ("I don't believe that, Tim") and then decided not to respond to it at all.

Besides, large general contractors with many own crews do not necessarily use fewer subcontractors depending on the distance between the company headquarters and the construction site. Overall, it is very difficult to make reliable general statements about the subcontracting practices of general contractors, even "just" at the level of company size ./. own crew ratio.

Even mailbox general contractors are not categorically inadvisable – for architect general contractors this structure is even typical, without being a model to be discouraged. So, even mailbox general contractors do not automatically build only "half-timbered houses" ;-)

By the way, large general contractors (GCs) with many own crews do not necessarily use fewer subcontractors depending on the distance between company headquarters and construction site. Overall, it is very difficult to make serious universally valid statements about the subcontractor system of GCs, even "just" at the level of company size versus own crew ratio.

I certainly did not want to imply that our GC builds without subs. He has plenty of them as well.
I was just surprised to read about the topic of vaccination, AHA rules, etc. in this context, which in my view is out of place and does not correspond to my experience of the last few months. At least I was very relieved that despite 90% own crews from "not different nationalities" and the few sub-crews, absolutely no one made the mentioned points an issue.

By no means did I want to imply that our GU builds without subs.

And I didn’t want to claim that you claimed that ;-)
My post was a mix of my own opinion on the matter and addressing your own words and your quote of Yvonne’s statements.
The core message should be not to infer causalities between planning security in personnel disposition and the question of having one’s own crews – especially not as general statements about GUs of different sizes.