This happened to Flint and Detroit....Puttsburg in automotive and heavy industry. How much is a company responsible for a community that builds up and becomes dependent upon it for survival?
They came for profit and they leave for profit. Somewhere along the way, many are left holding the inflated property and new jobless community. Social contract was the key phrase for Flint and Detroit, but poor management caused those jobs to die. Life is hard. Accept the cheese moved and make changes.
Every employer demands loyalty...until they decide you need to be let go. Every employee pledges loyalty....until they see their best interest is elsewhere. The social contract is bs spewed by folks that feel bad for the losers, who are in a world of hurt.
“Social contract was the key phrase for Flint and Detroit, but poor management caused those jobs to die.”
Not that the unions were all that friendly to the people who employed them either. Plenty of blame to go around, especially compared to the success that non-union Honda and Toyota are having in producing cars here.