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

[RockChucker]

Yes...

I wish I could edit my posts.

That line was mine, but I was cut'n'paste'n and it got dropped in the wrong spot.

That plant provides employment in one of the more impovershed areas of Michigan. It is super-huge.

It only pulls as much water as a town the size of 15,000. No more than most other towns in the area.

[azhenfud]

"Keep it up unions--pretty soon they will have to move their union headquarters to Mexico too."

Not a bad idea - wish we could drop that in their suggestion box.

[11th Earl of Mar]

I don't see how the water plant is a NAFTA issue.

Enviro-extremist issue, yes. NAFTA, no.

[azhenfud]

"Enviro-extremist issue, yes. NAFTA, no."

There ain't no environmental issues in Mehico, Padre. NAFTA say you come to Mehico, you have no worry, you have no regulations.

[Area51]

I Happen to live in Greenville and know a bit about what I am saying versus the BS on this thread.

First the Local, State and Feds put together a package that would have created a renissance zone that the company could have built a new state of the art factory across town on a city bypass, in an industrial park.
Along with many other tax breaks that amounted to about 4 million in savings per year.

The Company said it needed to save 81 Million PER YEAR to stay. They lost their competitiveness becuase it major competitors are already in Mexico. The showed a profit last year, this all came about this year. There was nothing I repeat NOTHING the employees could do short of working for 4 dollars an hour that would have changed Electrolux's mind. Because that is what they pay their Mexican workers in Juarez.

Further, the Employees that some of you rail against took it up the hinnie a couple of years ago with a two tear pay scale that limited the top of what the younger employees could make. Seems to me it was like about 2-4 dollars an hour difference along with increased insurance costs. These folks didn't get rich working there.

And finally AB Electorlux didn't build a freaking thing in Greenville. They bought the Business from White Consolidated (Frigidaire) who purchased it from the Gibsons who started the factory back in the 20-30s.
This was an American company that was purchase by a Foreign company. The Owners and Employees of Greenville, MI built that business Not some swiss vacumn company.

Also, the Fighting Falcon an Aircraft that carried many US service men During the Invation of Normandy was built in Greenville IN THAT PLANT.

[quack]

Eventually, they would become less profitable as their competitors (who already are in Mexico) lowered the prices.

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.

[11th Earl of Mar]

We are talking about Big Rapids, Michigan.

The only Mexicans up there are apple pickers.

[leadpencil1]

Agreed. And if there was a CEO saying that, despite losing market share and declining revenue, the company has decided to stay put untill the bitter end, it would be bye bye CEO and hello chain saw Al.

[em2vn]

You seem to know a good deal more about rat turds than I do. However, I think your take on unions makes as much sense as playing with anything a rat has dropped on the floor.
The steel city didn't die off because of the unions. That death was caused by management failing to spend the money on modernization. Foreign plants were able to produce steel products at a greatly lower cost because of the development of more efficent equipment and process.
If you remember the steel workers made great wage and benefit concessions. Nothing they could have done would have made up for the out dated equipment used in most U.S. steel plants.
Your take on the teachers union clearly shows what can happen when a union fails to realize that its purpose is only to work for the members welfare. In the case of the teachers union, it has given itself over to every left wing and feminist scheme that has ever surfaced. Add that to the fact that school administrators are over populated with a Phd plague, foisted onto us by the education industry at our colleges and universities and you find a basis for the decline of public education in America.

[Area51]

Wrong, we have a growing population of both Legal and Criminal Invaders-soon to be amnestied!

Grand Rapids is an area were the Mexican population is rapidly increasing. The past few years the Mexican Gang problem has risen its ugly head.

[B Knotts]

Lifesavers moved to Canada, primarily to avoid government-inflated U.S. cane sugar prices.

[verity]

#27.

Willie will join us later. He is being treated for an injury caused by a piece of falling sky. :~)

[Area51]

And just for the record, that 81 Million they said they needed to save per year amounts to 30 thousand dollars per employee.

And most of them made about that during the whole year.

Yeah it is the union and employees fault.

Bull Shit!

[CSM]

"That death was caused by management failing to spend the money on modernization."

Could those companies afford to modernize? Would modernization have led to greater efficiency and a reduction in labor? Would the union have allowed that or did they have a contract that guaranteed a specific labor growth?

[11th Earl of Mar]

I know about Grand Rapids. I have lived here for nearly 30 years.

We are talking about BIG RAPIDS [where the closed water plant is] which is 60 miles to the north GRAND RAPIDS.

[Area51]

Last I heard the water was a turned back on at Ice Mountain.

[em2vn]

Much more easily, through prudent buying, than removing a bullet,make possible by American consumers, from the chest of an American soldier.
Remember this; communist chinese business is simply an organ of the peoples liberation army. This is the army that provides weapons to North Korea, Iran, Libya, Syria and is currently threatening to invade Taiwan. Furthermore, it has threatened Australia, Vietnam, Japan and the United States.
I simply don't believe in providing the murderous bastards with the monies to advance their military and its war making capacity.

[ThirstyMan]

I see both sides of the greed picture as well.
It makes no sense to have a one-sided view of the greed pie. Whoever cuts themselves such a big piece of the pie that the company itself cannot survive deserves to be exposed as a pig!

I don't see any excuse for the Enrons; the Kenneth Lays,or the Tycos; the Dennis Kuzlowskis. The bonuses that these creeps made in a downturning profit year if refused, would have solved the company's problem.

Overly simplisitic? I don't think so. Greed is greed, whether it wears a white collar or a blue one. Often the white collar escapes responsible scrutiny as the are "rewarded" by a board. Greed is greed folks!

[em2vn]

I don't have access to the language of the contracts.
Since concession were made I don't imagine contract language couldn't have been modified in bargaining between the companies and the Steel Workers.
Are you aware of any other industry in America that was so blind to improved manfacturing process as the steel industry? Competition didn't develop in a hidden lab. It took place in the open over a number of years. Our steel industry chose not to spend the money to improve.

[rdb3]

A union apologist on a conservative forum.

Who woulda thunk it?