Posted on 04/24/2007 8:21:11 AM PDT by Wolfie
Hershey to Close Reading, Pa., Plant
The Hershey Co., the nation's leading candy maker, said Monday that it will shut down a plant in Reading as part of a wider move to cut labor and materials costs.
The closing, which will affect about 260 unionized employees, is the company's second plant-closing announcement in a little over two months.
"Our network operates at less than half of capacity (over seven days) and we must make significant changes to remain competitive," Hershey (nyse: HSY - news - people ) spokesman Kirk Saville said.
Saville said the company would work out severance agreements with the workers and close the plant in 2008. Hershey is looking to shift more manufacturing to India, China, Mexico and contractors in the United States, and has already announced it will cut up to 900 of the 3,000 workers from three plants in its hometown.
Hershey originally purchased the Reading plant from the Dietrich Corp. in 1987 and brought aboard the Luden's cough drop brand and the Fifth Avenue chocolate bar.
The plant also makes York Peppermint Patties, Reese's crispy crunch bars and Jolly Ranchers. The plant is about 40 miles east of the company headquarters in the town named for the chocolate magnate, Milton S. Hershey.
Gosh, this is a tough one. I heard a similar comment about Toyota dumping on America to ruin our car industry in the same way they killed our electronics industry. In theory, our steel industry was revived by restrictions on imports after dumping was proven.
I believe that a free market is a good thing. The difficulty comes when one doesn’t really have a free market. It’s clear we have restrictions placed upon the US by other countries, that we don’t impose upon them.
More importantly, to me, is the idea of a quality restaurant. In order to eat there...and folks do want to eat there....they are more than willing to pay double for what is sold for far less at lower end restaurants. Moreover, these places CHARGE waitress/waiter employees to work there because tips are so large for those who do a good job. Nonetheless, they get applicants.
We are the world’s best marketplace. Why shouldn’t we charge people to do business here? No one says they have to comply. They can take their business elsewhere.
The danger is complacency in our stellar market to the extent that the customer base gets taken for granted by the manufacturers who increase their profit by turning out lower quality goods. The only way to remedy this is by allowing competition.
In the long run competition is the best answer, but that always assumes a 2-way street when it comes to free markets.
If we remove all our labor protections and import enough illiterate illegal aliens to work for next to nothing, then eventually our economy should be able to compete with those third world countries that produce all the cheap crap that we are so willing to mortgage our future to buy.
Competition is the best answer, but giving every other country but ours a head start in that race by placing regulations and restrictions upon our own companies that our competition does not have is hardly the way to ensure that we come out ahead when the race is finished.
True competition requires a level playing field. Unfortunately the only way to level the field is to lay tariffs on goods imported from countries that essentially "dump" their products by non-compliance with the same regulations that apply to US Companies. But we will not do that until it is too late. Global Companies will do all within their power to ensure that goods made by their companies in third world snakepits will have free access to American markets until such time as America can no longer afford to import anything. At that point we will be one of those third world countries and the playing field will be leveled, as will most of our domestic industries.
So long as we don’t have a totally free market agreement with any other country, then I agree that that country should have tariffs placed upon it.
In the long run, though, technology overcomes manpower in terms of productivity, and, therefore, in terms of price.
The true future is in becoming the masters of technology.
And, of course, most of our tech jobs are being outsourced. And most of the high tech tools we use are being imported and then being used to replace American laborers.
I'm not sure there is a viable solution, but the fact of matter is that this so called "free trade" is eventually going to strangle all of us. Our service economy is eventually going to be oversaturated with too many services and not enough stuff needing service. At that point our economy will collapse like a house of cards. And if we go, we probably will take the rest of the world with us.
Smug pundits squeal the loudest when they finally discover that it is their job in the cross hairs.
A good education and the development of marketable skills is the best defense a person can mount. That said, it is not a guarantee. I know some very bright computer scientists who have been edged out because some very bright Indians and Chinese can do their job at a fraction of what it costs to live in the US.
“Backstory....Rosie O’Donnell gives up chocolate as part of a new diet.”
Candy stocks plummet, news at 11:00.
Maybe. Maybe not. That's my point (and it does not diminish the truth behind his statement).
I must thank Ray for the slow pitch.
Hershey's greatest legacy was his orphanage.
There is a national security issue that deeply concerns me, and that is the necessity for any nation to be self-sufficient in producing it’s own heavy industry, aviation, and ship-building.
Those businesses MUST be kept viable, and whatever it takes to do so is NOT an issue for a free market to determine, in my opinion.
The service industry’s biggest danger, imho, is low wages. You can’t pay a guy Yugo wages and expect Escalade purchases to increase....and Escalades don’t cost much more than do Explorers.
Our auto industry has priced itself out of the market and THAT really is a matter of union wages being abused in those industries. I’m sure I read recently that the union auto worker has a total package over 100 bucks an hour.
If it were me, I’d be extremely happy to take a cut and still have a $75 total package job than no job at all.
Stealth hiring was the practice that got it started. A homosexual would apply for and receive a position that impacted hiring. From there the hiring would be aimed at hiring and promoting other homosexuals. No pun intended, then there was an end run around qualified people to place homosexuals into positions of greater power and authority.
I first saw this in the early 80s when a homosexual human resourses director called a newly hired well known Christian kid into her office to talk with him about his job duties. They had a nice chat and he went back to work on the shop floor.
That evening he was contacted at home by the plant manager and fired for verbally assaulting the human resources director and threatening her, according to the director.
Eventually the woman was found out but not before she had placed several homosexuals onto the shop floor and into the management offices from which they were promoted and those on the shop floor were promoted to supervisory positions.
Actually, in the first quarter, US sugar was 76% more expensive.
Does your concept of “free market” include sweatshops? Do you really think you or anyone else can compete or offer your services for prices lower than can be found under communist oppression? Are you understanding at all why some of us are a little chilled by this trend?
In other words, in order to forestall communism in the future, we must embrace communism now.
Willie logic!
Read my 298, plz and thx.
And throw in those 85. per hour Chinese wages and it's a win win for Hershey!! An employers dream come true!!
Hershey moving to Communist China is a good thing, and the only way Hershey would survive or compete. This new world economy sure is great for Americans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.