Electrolux to close plant in Greenville

WoodTV ^ | 01/16/2004

[RockChucker]

Electrolux employees began arriving at the plant well before the scheduled announcement to learn the fate of 2,700 Greenville jobs. This morning at 7:30 those employees learned that Electrolux will close its Greenville plant.

Last Friday was to be the day, but the deadline was postponed one week to allow talks to continue between the company, the city and the union. This morning at 7:00 a.m. Electrolux was scheduled to make the announcement; however, company officials delayed that announcement until 7:30 a.m. When that announcement finally did come, it wasn't what anyone in Greenville wanted to hear.

That's just the city of Grand Rapids. Ice Mountain water bottleing plant, the largest in North America, will likely be shutting down... and they just built the plant 1 year ago.

Electrolux to close plant in Greenville

In a prepared release, Electrolux announced that some products manufactured in Greenville will be moved to a plant in Anderson, South Carolina, while other lines will be moved to a plant in Mexico. In the meanwhile, operations in Greenville will continue into 2005.

The company says that it carefully considered the city's proposal to keep the plant in Greenville, but that in order to remain competitive it must move operations to Mexico.

Electrolux says it lost 38 percent of its profits in the third quarter and it can save $81 million a year by shuffling off to Mexico.

For Greenville, this means the loss of 2,700 jobs and $437,000. That's about a 20 percent blow to its tax base. For the region, the overall economic impact each year will affect the service industry and Electrolux suppliers, amounting to $243 million. The numbers are daunting especially for Electrolux employees

[Wrigley]

So true. I'm seeing more gangs symbols from hispanic gangs I used to see in Chicago.

[Dan from Michigan]

Buchanan was right on NAFTA.

[Area51]

BOSS is in BUSINESS to make a PROFIT, not just to furnish JOBS to open MOUTHS.


80 posted on 01/16/2004 9:02:31 AM PST by azhenfud ("He who is always looking up seldom finds others' lost change...")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

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I agree however that argument looses all support when during hard economic times the CEO's are given huge bonuses and even bigger Golden parachutes.

[Area51]

That giant sucking sound isn't a Hurricane!

[em2vn]

Is being anti-union part of conservative dogma? I don't think it is. The union local that represents me is wall to wall conservatives.
Are you saying that to be a union members disqualifies one from being a conservative? If so I am sure you would surprise a hell of a lot of union members.
As far as being an apologist, I don't accept that moniker. I think America enjoys a middle class because of the union movement not become of the largesse of corporate America.
Let's don't kid ourselves.Corporate America would be very happy to have us living in slums and our children wearing rags in the winter snows. History has proven that from the founding of the union movement when union founders were targeted for murder by the auto and mining companies.
What confounds me about union issues on FR is the frequent claim that union workers are over paid. At what point is a person over paid? Is it when someone makes more per hour than the person posting; is it when a lineman makes twenty four dollars an hour or is it when Michael Isner makes over two hundred million dollars in a year?
Furthermore, the claim that union workers are lazy is one that I haven't been able to confirm. In my sixth decade I have worked both union and non-union jobs. I found the union workers more willing to ridicule a slacker than I found in the non-union sector. There is much I haven't seen but much of what we see is viewed through perspective.

[rdb3]

Union apologist and class warrior.

Strike two.

[Gritty]

...did you forget the sarcasm tag?

No. I thought it would be obvious, but apparently it isn't.

My comments were meant to demonstrate disgust at our national policy of open borders as opposed to the policies of every other country who cares about their own sovereignty.

They were also meant to demonstrate we now have a lot of unemployed workers who must look for other jobs and will now in many cases have to compete with illegal workers who are flooding through our borders by the millions.

I was also critical of our timid policies concerning Vincente Fox and Mexico as they are partly to blame for our problem and would certainly not react in kind if our citizens started streaming illegally across their borders, as irrational as that may be.

My comments are also critical of our NAFTA agreements which seems to have resulted in only a one way flow for exports of our industrial base - the other way. I have seen ZERO new jobs coming here from either Mexico or Canada, but a lot going the other direction even while these countries look the other way to illegal immigration problems.

I am disgusted with our laws which require us to house, feed, cure and give citizenship and benefits to those who crash our borders, and it's the American worker and citizen who is taking it in the chops and being critized for being critical of the entire shameful spectacle.

Does that help? I hope it's a bit more thought provoking.

[ArGee]

Is being anti-union part of conservative dogma? I don't think it is.

I don't think it is either.

I support what unions were started for - workers organizing to ensure they were treated fairly and with respect against management who used blacklisting to force workers into near slavery.

I do not support unions which try to peddle power and influence to keep union jobs alive regardless of the impact on the workers' jobs. Does that happen? I don't know based on true evidence, but I suspect it does, and human nature would suggest it does regularly.

Shalom.

[Ciexyz]

Sheesh I don't want my water bottled in Mexico. I live near the hepatitis A outbreak area (near Butler PA) where Chi Chi's served contaminated green onions from Mexico. The restaurant just reopended yesterday. Four people died and over sixty people came down with hepatitis A. And now you say that even Lifesavers are made in Mexico? Shiiiiiiit !!!!!

[Ciexyz]

This reminds me of an incident in the past week in Pittsburgh PA where employees of the old Nabisco Baking Company, now called Newline Bakery, came to work and found the factory fenced off and closed. Tough luck, huh. Couple hundred more people out of work.

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

Does it make sense to pay a guy $15 or $20/hr to turn a screw?

If he uses it to feed, house & cloth himself and his family, well, yes. You can either pay a little more for your vacuum, or have the money to provide for the displaced worker's family deducted from your paycheck (or have it piled onto the shoulders of your children and grandchildren as debt).

Personally, I vote for paying the high wage for screw-turning, as it cuts the gubmint out of the money loop and likely creates a family of Republican voters.

And one final point: There is a lot more going on in a modern factory besides "screw-turning". The loss of these skilled manufacturing jobs is one more chink in America's armor.

[CSM]

"Corporate America would be very happy to have us living in slums and our children wearing rags in the winter snows. History has proven that from the founding of the union movement when union founders were targeted for murder by the auto and mining companies."

Oh yeah, those evil corporations that only are propped up by that evil capatilist economic system. They are only out to make money off the backs of the little guy and steal the little guys money. Yeah, the owners of these evil corporations would love to see us all so poor that we would not be able to afford their products so they could join us in the poor house!

The inception must have been necessary, I mean it wasn't like the auto workers were being paid a great wage that attracted many people. It's not like it was the first industry that paid $5 a day. It wasn't as if Henry wanted to make sure that his product was affordable to his own workers.

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"What confounds me about union issues on FR is the frequent claim that union workers are over paid. At what point is a person over paid? Is it when someone makes more per hour than the person posting; is it when a lineman makes twenty four dollars an hour or is it when Michael Isner makes over two hundred million dollars in a year?"

A person is overpaid when the market is held hostage and free competition is not allowed. The market would not bear paying a person $24 to start for turning a screw. The difference in the two positions you use as an example is that Disney is free to hire anyone they would like for less than two hundred million a year, but the union member can not be replaced for someone at less than $24 an hour.

How do you determine the value of labor? I define it by the fruit produced. In other words, the most productive labor is the most valuable labor. The productivity of labor is determined by it's ability to use all tools, capitol and technologies most efficiently. The value of labor only changes when some other advance is allowed to increase its output. The value of labor has only increased because of inventive individuals and other individual willing to invest their money in those investments. Imagine, how much steel could a blacksmith produce in the colonial days and compare that with the current output of a smelter. The labor didn't change to become efficient, the technology did.

Unions fight efficiency, therefore inherintly they bring harm to the value of labor, yet they are allowed to hold the producers hostage and receive blackmail payments in the form of falsly inflated wages.

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

Something I've noticed though,is that prices aren't lowered when a company moves out of the U.S.The company makes more profit,but we,the consumer,don't see a reduction in price.I'm willing to bet that Electrolux will not reduce the price on their products either.

Bingo! Look for accolades and huge bonus increases for electrolux execs in the near future. Meanwhile, the businesses and jobs remaining in SC will enjoy the benefits of increases in unemployment insurance premiums and tax increases to pay for the expansion of welfare state programs and offset revenue losses to state coffers.

Finally, the free traitors will be happy knowing that the dirty screw-turners are getting paid exactly what they are worth, nothing. And a new generation of RAT voters and Dean supporters, the children of the laid-off workers, will be born.

[em2vn]

An asinine and insipid comment is a substantial way to move a discussion along.
Foul ball!

[CSM]

I agree with your comments regarding illegal aliens. We should close the borders.

However, I think any corporation needs to use the most efficient resources available and they need to minimize costs. If they don't then they will be put out of business by a competitor or replacement technology. In the end, we would lose much more than jobs.

[Ciexyz]

I agree with your post that there are good and bad workers involved in unions. This country would be in much worse shape if we didn't have unions! We'd all be working for minimum wage and living three families under one roof. Are the high tech people, teachers, doctors and lawyers the only ones that are allowed to make a comfortable wage? The Republican party has numerous union supporters who go against the dictates of their own party by supporting the Republican party. Do you want to drive away those voters with constant union bashing? It seems to me that some posters get out their steel-tipped boots every time someone posts anything vaguely receptive to unions.

Yes, flame away. GO ahead and tell me that my post is the least credible post on FR. Engage in personal attacks and get it out of your system.

[looscnnn]

Well, that is the way one poster I have had discussions with in other threads likes it.

[Jason_b]

"If you pass NAFTA, you are going to hear a giant sucking sound of jobs going to Mexico..." -Perot
His words were marked and have been coming to pass.

[CSM]

You don't see a reduction in price, because while they are able to find a more efficient labor resource, the othe costs in the price are increasing. These costs have been increasing for years and the general customer is not willing to pay more for the product.

In addition, any public company needs to continue to show profits and pay dividends or you will not have shareholders. Without shareholders you will never be able to remain competitive and you will end up losing the company. So yes, these profits benefit all investors, many employees are investors. However, most union members don't think they get compensated unless they see it on the check stub.

[Ben Ficklin]

Instead of comparing productivity of a union shop with productivity in Mexico, I suggest you compare productivity between union and non-union shops within the US.

You mentioned the $24/hr lineman, so what you have to do is compare that lineman to one that works for Century Tel, who is not union. Don't forget that the non-union employee can be re-assigned as needed.

Steelcase has been mentioned on this thread. Compare them to Anderson Hickey who is non-union and doing well with no need to move to Mexico.

Compare Carrier AC's unionized operation in Texas to Goodman Mfg's non-union AC plant in Texas.

I've got to tell you that in 30 years I have been on the floor of uncountable mfgs in the US and I certainly know the difference between the productivity of union and non-union shops.