Showing posts with label plant closing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plant closing. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Plant Closing #19

Can a plant be closed temporarily until mid-2010? if it is a brick plant, maybe.
From the San Antonio Times:
Express-News -
Fort Worth-based ACME Brick temporarily will close its McQueeney plant near Seguin next month because of the downturn in residential construction, according to a report in the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise.
ACME said it will begin closing the plant at the end of February, and it will remain closed until at least mid-2010.
The number of workers affected wasn’t disclosed, and a company spokesman couldn’t be reached for comment late Monday.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Plant Closing #18

The weakened economy is forcing the consolidation of weaker factories. I suppose that on the other side these companies will be stronger. Via WSJV news in South Bend IN.

Dexter Axle is closing its plant in Elkhart as part of a consolidation that will
cut 92 jobs.
The company says the closure in July is part of a plan to consolidate four northern Indiana plants into two at Albion and Fremont. The company previously announced it would close its plant in North Manchester.
The company will meet with officials of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 1315 to negotiate a separation agreement with the 70 production workers at the Elkhart plant. Shetterly said the company hopes to retain some of the workers as it expands the plants at Albion and Fremont.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Plant Closing #17

From the Daily Journal in Northeast Mississippi:
SHERMAN - When furniture maker and retailer La-Z-Boy announced last month it was going to cut 850 employees company wide, this small community braced for what could happen to the Bauhaus upholstered furniture plant.

It turns out that furniture, especially La-Z-Boy loungers, is another discretionary consumer item being hurt in this downturn.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Plant Closing #16

Fleetwood is announcing some severe cuts. If automotive is hurting, I can understand how recreational vehicles would be killed. I drove by an RV sales lot on the way to Midnight Madness. The floodlights lit the behemoths.....
Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., the third-largest U.S. maker of recreational vehicles, said it’s closing 8 of its 24 plants because of reduced demand for travel trailers and factory-built housing.
The company expects to cut about 760 jobs, or 13 percent of the 5,700 positions it had at the end of August, as production is consolidated at other facilities.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Plant Closing #15

Magna announces some plant closings:
Magna International Inc., battered by production cuts at Chrysler and General Motors, will shut two auto parts plants in the Toronto area next June, eliminating 850 jobs in the latest example of how the U.S. auto slump is creating fallout on this side of the border.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Plant Closing #14

Plant Closing #14 is an automotive glass factory;
Pittsburgh Glass Works, the former auto glass unit of PPG Industries Inc., announced three plant closings and 150 layoffs to keep pace with slumping auto demand.
PGW will shutter production at its Oshawa, Ontario glass fabrication site in the first quarter of 2009, and close two satellite assembly plants in Newark, Del., and Cambridge, Ontario later in 2009.

I know GM is closing a vehicle plant in Oshawa. The Newark Delaware plant closing may related to the Chrysler plant closure there at the end of December.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Plant Closing #13


Paper is another thing in less demand in a weaker economy. Boise Inc announces some capacity reduction.
BOISE, Idaho, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boise Inc. (NYSE: BZ - News), a leading manufacturer of packaging products and communications papers, announced today that it will restructure its paper mill in St. Helens, Oregon, permanently halting pulp production at the plant and reducing annual paper production capacity by 200,000 tons.
The permanent capacity reductions will result in a loss of approximately 300 jobs at the St. Helens mill and 25 jobs in related sales, marketing, and logistics functions elsewhere in the company. Eligible salaried employees will be offered severance packages and outplacement assistance. Closure agreement negotiations will be scheduled with the AWPPW Local 1 to determine the impact for union employees.



Photo: Scott Butner's photostream

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Plant Closing #12

From their website; Pilgrim's Pride produces healthy, high-quality food products that go into some of the world's finest recipes.

  • Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC) is the largest chicken company in the U.S. and the second-largest in Mexico.
  • Net sales in fiscal 2007 totaled $7.6 billion.
  • Pilgrim's Pride is currently ranked #327 on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations.
  • Pilgrim's Pride employs approximately 50,000 people in the U.S. and Mexico.
This news is not shocking from a percentage impact to their employment, what I didn't know is that a suffering economy impacts chicken producers.
HARRISONBURG VA - Pilgrim's Pride will cut more than 300 jobs nationwide as it wrestles with the sluggish economy, the company announced in a statement Friday. A source close to the company's Broadway plant says the local facility will likely cut "six to seven" positions. A Pilgrim's Pride spokesman would not confirm that figure

They supply Kentucky Fried Chicken, maybe people are eating out less.

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) for Employees

More of us need to be aware of what to expect if we are to be layed off. Or our plant is going to be closed. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) applies to employers with 100 or more employees. The purpose of WARN is "to protects workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of plant closings and mass layoffs".

There is an employee guide here.

WARN applies when an employer:
• Closes a facility or discontinues an operating unit (see glossary) permanently
or temporarily, affecting at least 50 employees
• Lays off 500 or more workers (not counting part-time workers) at a single
site of employment during a 30-day period
• Announces a temporary layoff of less than 6 months that meets either
of the two criteria above and then decides to extend the layoff for
more than 6 months
• Reduces the hours of work for 50 or more workers by 50% or more for
each month in any 6-month period. Thus, a plant closing or mass layoff
need not be permanent to trigger WARN

The Department of Labor has a fact sheet for employers here.

What happens if an employer fails to give the proper notice?



An employer who violates WARN is liable to each affected employee for an amount
equal to back pay and benefits for the period of violation, up to 60 days. This
liability may be reduced by any wages the employer pays over the notice period.
WARN liability may also be reduced by any voluntary and unconditional payment
not required by a legal obligation.
An employer who fails to provide notice as required to a unit of local government is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for each day of violation. The penalty may be avoided if the employer satisfies its liability to each affected employee within three weeks after the closing. In any suit, the court, in its discretion, may allow the
prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.
  • WARN is enforced through the U.S. District Courts, as provided in section 5 of the Act.
  • Workers, their representatives, and units of local government may bring individual or class action suits against employers believed to be in violation of the Act.
  • The U.S. Department of Labor has no authority or legal standing in any enforcement action and cannot provide specific binding or authoritative advice or guidance about individual situations.
  • The Department provides assistance in understanding the law and regulations to individuals, firms, and communities.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Plant Closing #11

The automotive OEMs do not look like they will convince Congress to loan them any money this year. I am not sure what this will mean. The CEOs say that it could mean huge job loses. For now, Chrysler has announced one of there truck plants that was already targeted to be closed will be closed early.

Chrysler has announced it is closing its plant a year early, by Dec. 31. It will lay off more than 1,000 workers.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Plant Closing #10

I just read that the Spam plant is working overtime because people are turning to cheaper meats. Now I see Sara Lee is closing a hot dog factory on the South Side of Chicago.
Sara Lee Corp. is closing its South Side kosher hot dog and meat processing plant, 1000 W. Pershing, leaving about 185 people without jobs.

Sara Lee plans to sell the plant..... good luck. I hope they do find a buyer. Sara Lee says that the kosher meat business is not a core business and not profitable enough. Maybe a more focused owner can keep it thriving.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Buzzards are Circling

Hey, here is some good news for a change.
Plant closings mean huge opportunities for demolition, remediation, transportation and other related companies. The sheer size and complexity of a plant closing means millions of dollars in contracts are up for grabs.
Even in death there is life.

Plant Closing #9

I spent a night in Ft Smith once. Nice little town. I think I had to buy a membership in a club in order to drink there. Actually, it was just a bar, but the law said you had to be a member to drink there. Here is some bad news for the town.


Plastics manufacturer Jarden Plastics Solutions in Fort Smith is closing and will lay off 93 workers.
The company said Tuesday that external factors, including diminished demand from Whirlpool Corp., made the closing necessary. Whirlpool laid off another 700 workers at its Fort Smith plant last week.



Ft Smith is the "future site of the U.S. Marshals Museum."

Monday, November 17, 2008

Plant Closing #8

Umm... Many of the articles about plant closings cite 3rd quarter earnings. Those might be the good old days..... Here is a piece on Dana
Revealing it lost $271 million on lower sales in the third quarter, Dana Holding Corp. announced additional layoffs and plant closings Thursday morning.The Toledo auto parts producer said it will shut as many as 10 more plants in 2009 and 2010 and will cut 5,000 jobs this year instead of the originally announced 3,000.

Dana just emerged from Chapter 11 in Febrary.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Plant Closing #7

Siemens announced the acceleration of a pant in Bellefontaine Ohio.
The Bellefontaine plant closure will affect 434 jobs.

Siemens originally announced the closing for 2010.
The work will go to existing Siemens facilities in Monterrey and Juarez, Mexico, and to other third-party suppliers.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Plant Closing #6

A recent post explained that the cost of labor in China was 4 to 5 times more expensive than in countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh. The global downturn is also having an affect on the global manufacturing base. Chinese exports are declining which is having an effect on toymakers that export to the US.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Plant Closing #5

The housing downturn claims another factory:
It's not merely that Shaw Industries Group Inc.'s Plant 76 is the economic lifeblood of Trenton and Dade County, its 440 good-paying jobs make it the county's largest private employer. The factory has been a constant here for some 40 years, changing hands from time to time but always providing economic certainty: It was where people went to work after high school, and the only place many ever worked.

In towns like Trenton there are often only one main plant. Sometimes they have survived through the years by leaning the operations enough to remain competitive. The recession was too much to withstand.
Demographer Johnson says small towns that lose their main employer often fade
into obscurity, but he believes Trenton will endure: "Their saving grace is
their proximity to the Chattanooga metro area. A lot of these people are
certainly going to find jobs there."

Hope.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Plant Closings #4

This one is automotive related:
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. -- Summit Polymers Inc. has announced plans to close its Shelbyville plant in January, leaving 263 people jobless.
The facility has 222 hourly production workers and 41 salaried employees.
The plant, which began production in 2004, was built to supply plastic interior parts, primarily for trucks and sport utility vehicles

There will be MANY MORE of these closings.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Plant Closings #3

I am by no means trying to list all plant closings. There are too many to capture anyway. I just try and pick out the ones that may have something of a lesson to learn. This article is posted in Triangle Business Journal:

Silver Line Building Products will shutter its plant in Durham before the Christmas holiday, laying off 428 people, according to the state Department of Commerce.

Silver Line, which makes vinyl windows and patio doors, told of its actions in a WARN Act notice with the Commerce Department. The company says it expects the closure to be effective as of Dec. 20.

Sometimes timing is everything. "The company came to the Triangle just four years ago, announcing in December 2004 that it would build a factory in Durham and employ 800 workers." Ouch, just before the housing boom ended.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Plant Closings #2

Another side effect of belt tightening. This time it is due to a reduction in direct mail advertising.

NC direct mailing company IWCO Direct officials say 380 workers are losing their jobs because a plant that develops direct mail advertising in a small North Carolina town is closing.

Officials handed out notices Thursday at IWCO Direct in the Wilson County town of Elm City. The workers earned between $9 and $25 an hour and were given 60 days severance pay.

The company's Debora Haskel said the plant was closing because fewer companies are sending brochures in the ailing economy. Haskel said the closing "is completely market driven.

"Credit card marketers aren't making as many offers as they used to," Haskel said. "They are not making as many (direct mail) loan offers."


This is a big difference from cutting back a shift or eliminating overtime. This is a permanent closing of a factory. It will not come back.

Doesn't it seem like direct mailing should be done on a regional basis anyway? The "IWCO said it is moving its operations to Minnesota and continues to send 200 million mailings a month." It seems more efficient to me to keep a spread of regional mailing centers to reduce logistics costs. This is how Netflix does it.