Democrats Preserve American Jobs With “President Obama’s” Coin

In keeping with their convention pledge to protect, promote and grow American jobs, the Democrats have contracted with Windsor, Elizabeth & Windsor, an UK company, to produce 300 limited edition commemorative silver coins for the Democratic Party to hand out to key members of the campaign to elect Obama.

By utilizing an English company to hand-craft these commemoratives, the Democrats are saving Americans the arduous task of producing these high quality keep-sakes. Since the average contribution to the Obama campaign is approximately $65, 2,300 hard working Americans have contributed to the Obama Campaign so that our Democratic Congressmen, Governors and party Dignitaries can have these valuable collectibles and admire there English craftsmanship.

After our Democratic Leadership has received these commemoratives, WEW plans to give the average American the opportunity to purchase the “Obama – The President” Commemoratives. These coins should gain considerably in value since this is the first time a Presidential Commemorative has been produced prior to the election.

This also gives the Republicans an opportunity to save the economy millions of barrels of oil by not having to drive to the polls to vote.


The picture of the commemorative being produced is from the Birmingham Post.net.

Dell Computer: Déjà vu 8,800 Last Year, 8,800 This Year

Last year I wrote an article: Dell Computers; Layoffs, Issues And More Layoffs. At that time I had no idea that I would be writing practically the same article this year. But Dell is like their service, consistently bad.

Dell has never given out straight forward information about their plans for staff reductions but rather they throw out a target number for the national business media and the small local layoffs get reported on in the smaller news markets around the country. The most accurate information has come from a NETWORKWORLD article by Dan Nystedt and reports that Dell has already completed 3,200 layoffs with another 5,200 happening soon.

Even though desktop computer sales improved by 10% last year, they will be closing their desk top facility in Austin, Texas and many that aren’t losing their jobs will be forced to take unpaid time off.

For more than a year Dell has been going through an audit that they claim was caused by certain departments fudging their numbers. As a result they will restate their earnings reports from 2002 through 2006 by a mere $150 million. That's a lot of fudge.

Dell is also being sued on two fronts, first for not performing on their extended warranties sold directly to customers and second for falsely advertising the terms being offered by their company owned financial arm. It has been reported that Dell’s financing division is now up for sale.

Dell, IBM, Intel, Cisco, HP and Microsoft have all gazed into the crystal ball and have seen their future in Asia and India. Doing business in the U.S. has just become too tenuous.

The Media Spotlight Catches Nielsen Outsourcing, Downgrading Full-Time Too Part-Time And Aggressively Abusing H-1B Visas

Theresa Blackwell penned a very good article in the St. Petersburg Times on the commitment by the powers at Nielsen to do everything possible to cut payroll. The controversy justifiably received national attention on the Lou Dobbs Show who emphasized the H-1B Visa abuse. Nielsen while putting Americans out of work is replacing the positions with H-1B Visa holders from India.

I’ve consistently written about H-1B Visa abuse and how companies, tech companies and our universities in particular, have shamelessly imported staff where there should have been more than a sufficient supply of qualified Americans to fill the positions. The only motive for the push to hire foreign staff would be to cap salary ranges.

From Ms. Blackwell’s article:

“Just four days ago, Nielsen gave up $3.1-million in future incentives for creating new jobs in Oldsmar, saying the controversy over the government money had become a distraction for employees and a source of conflict with the city.”

This would not be such a controversy or distraction if the Nielsen Company wasn’t absolutely committed to replacing U.S. workers with H-1B Visa holders.

One other point of contention that the article brings up but does not emphasize is the ratio of full time to part time employees at their Dunedin facility. With 4.4 part-time or temporary workers to every full-timer demonstrates that a desire to cut costs by cutting benefits.

Would this be the type of company you want to work for; maybe if you’re from India. You can browse the Nielsen Careers Page here.

Our Universities Have To Go Offshore To Find Talent
Companies Hiding Offshoring
LSI - More “Partnering” Lay Offs Coming To Kansas City?
Sun Micro's Jonathan Schwartz The Genius?
American Axle Moving More Jobs Out Of The U.S.
California Sending DMV Data To Mexico
Altria Optimizes Worldwide Cigarette Production
Dell Computers; Layoffs, Issues And More Layoffs
Freightliner The Long Haul From North Carolina To Mexico
IBM An Extreme View On Offshoring

Who Says Inflation Is Under Control

Consumer late payments at 16 year high. Could higher prices at the grocery check-out and at the fuel pump be putting the squeeze on our wallets?

Unemployment claims at there highest level in two years.

ATA Airlines shuts down stranding thousands and laying off 2,000. The cost of fuel was listed as one of the primary causes. Last week Aloha Airlines also shut-down operations.

Corn sets new record price of $6 per bushel. At least our all-knowing government officials tell us that inflation is under control.

Gasoline at new national record. Even with oil backing off there peaks, the cost of refined gasoline is starting its summer rise. Every spring refiners increase their crack spread (the mark-up on gasoline) to reflect the increase in demand. This process has just started.

Motorola disconnecting 2,600 more. Last year they had lay offs of 3,500 in January and 4,000 in May. During a cutting stretch in 2000 and 2001 their payroll shrank by more than 47,000 jobs.

Google planning to cut 25% in the Double-Click work force, in the U.S. that is.

Dell needs to find $3 billion more in cuts than the 8,800 they announced last year. From my article last July.

Merrill Lynch to lay off 4,000 to 7,000.

Schering-Plough will be cutting $1.5 billion a year in expenses, no estimate on how many jobs will be lost. Schering-Plough shares are down about 50 percent this year so heads have to roll.

Are you ready to pay for the poor Home Builders losses? Time to E-mail your congressmen.

NASA estimates as many as 7,300 will loose their jobs as the shuttle program ends in the next 2 ½ years.

La-Z-Boy is shipping jobs to Mexico, all of their cut and sew divisions will be relocated with no lay off estimates given.

Hamiliton Sundstrand will be completing its move to Singapore by lying off the last 65.

United Way officials in Dayton said record numbers of families are seeking emergency food assistance because of lay offs caused by the strike at Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing. My article: American Axle Moving More Jobs Out Of The U.S.

CBS Moves Ahead With Layoffs in News

1,500 Possible Layoffs at Freightliner Cleveland Plant. My previous article: Freightliner The Long Haul From North Carolina To Mexico

From the CoStar web site that monitors the Fed’s watch list:

The Federal Reserve Banks moved up the planned closing of several of its check processing facilities, most of the cuts will come from permanent result work reductions.

Newsweek announced that 111 staffers on its news and business sides in New York City accepted a buyout last week.

Chromcraft Revington Inc. is progressively shifting manufacturing of products from its Delphi, IN, plant at 1100 N. Washington St. to suppliers primarily in Asia. Manufacturing activities at the Delphi facility will conclude on May 30. The reduction in force is expected to impact approximately 150 Associates at the Delphi location. Within the past 18 months, the company has closed and sold its plants in Sumter, SC, and Warrenton, NC, as well as its warehouse and distribution center in Knoxville, TN. The company also relocated its upholstery operations into its existing facilities in Lincolnton, NC, and sold its upholstery plant.

EMI Christian Music Group confirms layoffs of between 1,500 to 2,000 staffers by this June.

Long-expected layoffs begin at W.Va. steel mill, from a peak of 13,000 to 1,000 after these latest cuts. Steel mills have been devastated throughout the northeast by Asian steel and like most of the problems facing America; all the politicians do is use this issue as political fodder.

Earlier this week, Wheeling-Pitt's parent, Esmark Inc., announced it would shut down a mill in Allenport, Pa., and idle parts of the operation in Martins Ferry, Ohio. Those cuts could cost as many as 360 jobs.

Analysts see 200,000 banking industry layoffs in the next 18 months.

Whirlpool, a great old Mexican brand. 350 Cleveland jobs go to Mexico. Behr Climate Systems plans layoffs, plant closure. From the Germany based Behr Groups web site: “Today we are active in all major markets in Asia and take advantage of the opportunities they offer.”

JCPenney’s American Living The Ultimate American Sham

JCPenny is flooding the airwaves and other marketing medium with their new line called “AmericanLiving”. The new brand is being manufactured by Polo Ralph Lauren Corp and will be Penny’s feature line for all clothing groups; men’s, woman’s, kid’s, young adult’s and home furnishings. The brand will carry a 15% higher price point than their other lines.

The label itself shows incredible contempt for the American worker by having the bald eagle toting an American Flag then proudly claiming “US Quality Brand”. JCPenny has even used this emblem on the front of shirts, sweaters and even on shoes. In doing so they are exploiting the nationalistic pride we have in America to sell foreign made products. If they would have used American manufacturers I would whole heartedly support the line.

We visited a JCPenny’s store yesterday and when checking the lables we found the following: “Made in Jordan”, “Made in China”, “Made in Vietnam”, “Made in Taiwan”, “Made in Philippines”, “Made in Honduras”, “Made in Macau”.

The closest we get to the US was “Made in Northern Mariana Islands (US)”

View their commercials. DO NOT BUY From JCPenny and be sure to tell them that you will boycott their stores until they start selling American Pride by selling American products.

LSI - More “Partnering” Lay Offs Coming To Kansas City?

In the last line of the last paragraph in a Matt Andrejczak article on Marketwatch:

”LSI also will transition similar functions at facilities in Singapore and Wichita, Kansas, to current manufacturing partners.”

As written in LSI Leveraging Worldwide Contract Manufacturing Ecosystem = U.S. Layoffs, the company has no intention of retaining any of their American facilities other than the required sales staff. When the following honors were awarded to the LSI facility in Wichita, in 2003, they had total employment of 600. I have not been able to obtain current staffing levels.

Four years ago this facility was honored by the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers and Governor Sebelius:

Largest high tech employer in Kansas receives accolade for contributions to state economy and engineering ingenuity

Sun Micro's Jonathan Schwartz The Genius?

Now that the "no brainer" part has been done; cutting 15% of their workforce and selling off their real estate, can Schwartz deliver.

Sun MicroSystems announced another "restructuring" that will save the company about $150 million a year. Since the company is deliberately vague about giving details on how many or where the cuts will occur, the street estimates that 2,000 jobs will be lost.

From a Barbara Grady article on insideBayArea.com:

"Sun already eliminated 3,700 jobs since Schwartz took over in April 2006. It closed its Newark and Sunnyvale campuses."

"Since there last round of cuts primarily hit the U.S., we can assume that these cuts are also targeting U.S. facilities.

"But in cutting these jobs and real estate costs and boosting sales of its server computers, it tripled its profit margin to 8 percent by its most recent quarter and consequently returned to making money."

From the Boston Business Journal:

"In June, the Boston Business Journal reported that Nordblom Co. acquired Sun Microsystems' Burlington campus for $212 million and planned a remake of 800,000-square-foot property."

"Sun Microsystems said it planned to downsize its presence at the 158-acre campus, which was built in 1998. As part of the sale of the property, Sun Microsystems will remain a tenant but will lease 100,000 square feet less or about 450,000 square feet."

American Axle Moving More Jobs Out Of The U.S.

From a Buffalo News Business article by Fred O. Williams: “American Axle & Manufacturing confirmed plans to idle the company’s 734-job Buffalo plant — formerly the city’s largest source of factory jobs…”

What was interesting was the openness that Chief Executive Richard Dauch discussed the offshoring of U.S. jobs: “Seventy-five percent of new business backlog is sourced to non-U.S. facilities,”

From the article:

“The new orders will go to plants in Guanajuato, Mexico; Changshu, China; Araucaria, Brazil; and Olawa, Poland, he said. The business may also lead to construction of other non-U.S. plants.”

“The company said that costs at U.S. plants remain high, despite a buyout that erased 1,500 production jobs nationally”

‘“If you keep doing that, in America we’re going to be working for poverty wages,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of some form of retribution.’

‘“Our profits are coming from overseas,” Chief Financial Officer Michael Simonte said during the conference call.’

California Sending DMV Data To Mexico

From a Peggy Lowe article in the Orange County Register:

“Orange County's Superior Court contracts with a company that uses workers in Nogales, Mexico, to do the data entry of traffic tickets, a revelation on Thursday that outraged many who fear personal information is leaving the country.”

The individual courts have the authority to contract out the services that they oversee. And the workers in Nogales, Mexico that do the data entry of traffic tickets, have national felony background checks and they are also certified by the Sonoran State Police.

But if the confidential personal DMV data is compromised, what recourse do the courts really have against the company. Once the damage is done, hundreds or thousands of identities could be stolen with millions of dollars of damage done.

Do we trust the Mexican police to keep millions of dollars of our personnel data safe?

Amkor Tech Packaging Up The Few U.S. Jobs Left

Amkor Technology is the world’s second largest contract chip packager. With 22,000 employees that work in 15 factories around the world, they are now releasing 150 out of 270 workers in their last U.S. factory. Located in North Carolina’s Research Triangle.

From an Amanda Jones Hoyle article in the Triangle Business Journal:

“The remaining 120 Triangle employees, mostly engineering staff, will focus on research and development. The RTP facility is Amkor's only remaining manufacturing plant in the United States.”

“The company acquired RTP-based Unitive and its Taiwan-based sister company, Unitive Semiconductor Taiwan Corp., in 2004. Its operations in Morrisville and on Cornwallis Road in RTP are what remain of Unitive, a company that was honored as the "North Carolina electronics company of the year" in 2003 by what is now called the North Carolina Chamber.”

LSI Leveraging Worldwide Contract Manufacturing Ecosystem = U.S. Layoffs

As written about earlier this month LSI announced 900 layoffs - Strategic Restructuring 900 To The Unemployment Line.

Less than three weeks later they announce another 2,100 layoffs. From their website they have 13 North American facilities outside of their home town of Milpitas, Ca. The company made no indication of where or when the cuts will take place or if any severance packages will be offered.

From the LSU July 25, Press Release:

Abhi Talwalkar, LSI president and CEO, said, "As a result of the steps we are taking today, LSI will be well positioned to leverage the worldwide contract manufacturing ecosystem to further reduce our costs and improve our gross margins over time. Additionally, we anticipate significant benefits from additional sourcing options and worldwide fulfillment capabilities."

The company, other than their own back-slapping, gives no information on employment numbers or layoff information. If anyone can add to this sparse info, please leave a comment.

Additional article in the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journalabout LSI: LSI posts $378M Q2 loss, plans $100M sale and 2,100 job cuts

Altria Optimizes Worldwide Cigarette Production

Is this an accident or a planned timed release of information. In June, Altria announces in a June 26, 2007 Altria Group Press Release that they will be closing their Cabarrus, NC. facility, “optimizing” as many as 2,500. Three weeks later they announce in a July 18, 2007 Press Release an additional purchase of Grupo Carso that takes their ownership to 80%.

From their Altria Group Press Release:

“PMI is expected to shift sourcing of approximately 57 billion cigarettes from Cabarrus to PMI facilities in Europe by the third quarter of 2008,”

They state that only production for foreign market consumption will be moved. My question is could there also be plans in the works that would cause further moves of U.S. production to Mexican plants for U.S. consumption.

Earning Power And The American Dream

U.S. families have carried the economy during this last 5-year growth cycle, but for most of us, we have not participated in it. A significant portion of this growth has come from liquidity (cheap debt) and from developing foreign markets. Our biggest companies are growing overseas and shrinking here in the U.S., with the result bringing about a less than ideal situation for our future.

In the Christian Science Monitor article, American dream still burns bright for many – but results vary, and contributed to by Faye Bowers in Phoenix, Bill Frogameni in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Bina Venkataraman in Boston:

“Today, men in their 30s earn about $5,000 less in real terms than did their fathers' generation, according to Pew.”

“Today "there aren't the kind of jobs available you used to get with a high school education, and work yourself up," says Mr. Brockman. "Now you have to have training or experience to start – then you can work your way up from there."

Join The Immigration Reform Debate

As I wrote about before in, How Fortune 500 Companies Can Save $58 Billion a Year -- Just Send 1.5 Million More Jobs Overseas, and Trade Deficit and Exporting American Jobs.

Bussness Week has been publishing a series of articles (list at bottom of page) on immigration reform that is now before Congress. There has not been a better time to get real Visa reform accpmplished than now. Our Senators and Representatives need to demonstate that they are producing results on this front.

The problem is that our H-1B visas and L visas are being misused, with the result being lost American jobs. As an example; an employer will hire foreign IT workers after marketing the position, with a $35k annual salary, to IT workers that would normally start the same job at $65k. After not being able to find a qualified worker at the lower rate they can then qualify for a H-1B visa worker.

The L visa allows companies to bring foreign workers into the U.S., as a transfer, either replacing a American or for training to eventually replace U.S. when they go back to their original country.

What Senators Durbin and Grassley are looking into is the use of these visas by companies that are also laying off American workers. Most of the companies that are participating in “loopholing” the current visa law state that they need to do this to stay competitive. Do we really believe that Microsoft, IBM, Citigroup, Freightliner, Hersey or Washington Mutual wouldn’t find a way to be competitive if they didn’t send hundreds of thousands of jobs overseas. It is just a way to improve the bottom line. Everyone of these companies became who-they-are as American companies, with American workers.

BusinessWeek articles:

Salesman in Chief, January 24, 2007
Work Visas May Work Against the U.S., February 8, 2007
Fresh Ideas for the Immigration Debate, February 27, 2007
Gates to Senate: More Visas, March 8, 2007
Crackdown on Indian Outsourcing Firms, May 15, 2007
A 'Troubled' Immigration Reform Proposal, May 18, 2007
India Links Visa Flap with Doha Talks, May 18, 2007
Table: "Who Gets Temp Work Visas". May 18, 2007
U.S.-India Trade at Risk?, May 25, 2007
Immigration Fight: Tech vs. Tech, May 25, 2007
More Heat for Indian Outsourcers, June 27, 2007

Dell Computers; Layoffs, Issues And More Layoffs

We’ll have to wait-and-see who these layoffs affect. But layoffs aren’t the only part that will impact American jobs, Dell forecasts a 20% rise in Asian sales and will use this to shift an even higher percentage of their growth to that region.

Any discussion of the announced layoffs, of approximately 8,800 staffers at Dell, invites commentary into a number of other issues that are impacting the company. Since these “other” issues impact who will be let go, they will be touched on below.

Lately companies have been trying to down play their layoff and offshoring activity, hidden at the bottom of Dell’s “End-to-End Transformation” section of their May 31, 2007 Press Release:

“…As a part of this overall effort, Dell will reduce headcount by approximately 10 percent over the next 12 months. The reductions will vary across geographic regions, customer segments, and functions,…”

As written about in Call Centers: The Best And The Worst, a CRM Lowdown survey of the ACSI ,The American Customer Service Index, listed Dell as the worst company in America for Customer Service. Poor customer service has become legendary at Dell with bloggers dedicating entire sites just to handle their poor service and product issues. The company has responded in a number of different ways including a one2one blog so that dissatisfied customers can discuss their problem directly with a Dell employee, not necessarily someone who has a script and strict rules to follow. They have also added a problem resolution link to their web site so several layers of the service bureaucracy can be bypassed. From the same Press Release:

“Improved customer satisfaction ratings through increased investment in technical support resources like Dell Support Center and DellConnect. These investments helped the company achieve a 66 percent decrease in the number of times customers are transferred before their issue or question is resolved.”

The accounting investigation has caused Dell not to file Form 10-Q for the last four quarters, Dell has requested four extensions from the SEC, but the last approval only gave them till July 16, 2007. This date is from their Press Release on July 3rd!

Also from Dell’s Press Release, the company to date has spent $46 million on this accounting investigation, there is little doubt that some of the layoffs will occur in the accounting department once the investigation concludes,

From an Associated Press article printed in the Greensboro News & Record:

“It wasn't supposed to work like this. Paying $280 million to lure a Dell plant was supposed to ensure high-tech jobs at the computer maker and at ancillary businesses it would attract. Instead, Dell's health has faltered and 8,000 jobs will be cut in the next year.”

Two more articles:
Layoff report at NETWORKWORLD
One in Ten Dell Employees To Be Laid Off

Companies Hiding Offshoring

Instead of shifting whole divisions overseas, U.S. companies are replacing their American workers in smaller groups. By not filling openings caused through normal attrition and transferring positions, as to allow the disbandment of the divisions destined to be offshored, companies do not have to file with or provide benefits that would be required by U.S, Department of Labor Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

This also allows companies to stay off the medias radar screen and avoid negative press.

From a Mike Sunnucks article in the The Business Journal of Phoenix:

“U.S. employers are treading carefully these days when it comes to the outsourcing and offshoring of American jobs to India and other foreign markets.”

“Plenty of U.S. businesses are investing in India, either adding or moving jobs to call centers and technology hubs to that south Asia market. But in order to avoid criticism here at home, those companies emphasize that job shifts to India are about building a presence in the world's second-most populous country and leveraging resources in a competitive global marketplace.”

“Instead of shipping 500 U.S. jobs to Bangladore or Chennai all at once and enduring media criticism as well as displaced or anxious American workers, U.S. companies are offshoring in smaller, less obvious steps.”

“That includes looking to see whether positions can be shipped abroad when turnover occurs, and taking such steps with a smaller number of positions or work groups.“

Springs Global Not Much Left To Cut

From a Tribune-Times article penned By Business Editor, Woody White, Springs Global will close its two remaining plants in Fort Mill & Lancaster South Carolina. These final layoffs will put 750 out of work leaving U.S. employment at approximately 700 administrative and sales positions.

From the Companies web site:

“Founded in Fort Mill, S.C., as a single mill in 1887, our company evolved into Springs Mills and later Springs Industries, the leading home furnishings supplier in North America…” “…Major home furnishings brands include Wamsutta®, Springmaid®, Artex®, Regal®, and Dundee®.”

“We employ about 20,000 people worldwide and have operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States. Springs Global is based in Brazil. North American headquarters are in Fort Mill, S.C.”

From The (Rock Hill) Herald by Charles D. Perry:

“At its zenith 20 years ago, the company was the state’s largest private employer, with 17,000 South Carolina workers. A total of 23,500 people worked for the company worldwide.”

Hanesbrands Continues Globalization

I recently watched a Fox News interview with two economists, names forgotten but they had very impressive titles, who expressed their opinion that the average American doesn’t get it. With “it” being that sending U.S. jobs overseas is ultimately good for the U.S.

Personally I feel that it’s the “experts” that don’t get it. We are losing millions of better paying jobs and replacing them with lower paying service positions. The experts point to the unemployment at 4.5% as proof positive that globalization is working. I have to wonder what the economic support for their grandkids jobs will be.

I wrote in: Hanesbrands Closes Winston-Salem Plant Laying Off 610, that textile jobs have flowed out of the Carolinas for years. South Carolina had 122,000 textile jobs in 1994 and have lost 75% of those jobs to a current low of 31,000.

H. Martin Lancaster, President of the Carolinas Textile Club is quoted in a 2000 statement:

“With 2 million jobs, textiles are the largest manufacturing sector in the U.S. and contributes more to the Gross Domestic Product than metals automobiles, paper or petroleum production. We are very proud that North Carolina, with almost 150,000 jobs, is the leading textile state in the nation.”

That was 2000. From Duke University in 2005:

“In 1995, there were 2,235 textile and apparel plants in North Carolina employing 252,704 people. By 2005, there had been a 37% decline in the number of plants, to 1,402 plants, and a 61% decrease in employment to 97,525 workers”

In 2006 North Carolina has lost an additional 20,000 textile jobs.

In a statement from N.C. governor Mike Easley:

“A recent study by the American Textile Manufacturers Institute declared that unless action is taken, particularly against textile imports from China, the Chinese share of the U.S. textile and apparel market will rise to more than two-thirds within two years, from a 13 percent share in 2002 to a 71 percent share in 2006. That would result, by 2006, in a loss of 85,000 jobs in North Carolina.”

“Total U.S. textile job losses could reach 630,000 from 2004 to 2006, the Institute study warned, with more than 1,300 American textile plants closing in the next three years.”

Hanesbrands Inc. Press Release:

Hanesbrands Inc. Advances Planned Consolidation and Globalization Strategy to Further Improve Cost Competitiveness

Canada - More Trucking Business Unusual

Southern Ontario is losing 150 manufacturing jobs a day. From the London Free Press:

Thomas Assembly Plant: Cutting about 900 jobs with elimination of a shift.

Accuride wheel rim plant: 253 laid off since last summer.

Siemens: The plant that employed 1,300 in 1995 now has 200. That will sink to 50 by the end of 2009.

Dow Chemical Canada: Sarnia plant will close in 2008, cutting 380 jobs.

Sterling Trucks in St. Thomas: Announced 800 layoffs in 2007.

International Truck in Chatham: Announced 640 layoffs.

Dura Automotive Systems: Stratford auto parts announced closure this year, eliminating 280 jobs.

Hendrickson: Stratford truck parts plant announced layoff of about 150 workers.

Mega-Plas: Auto parts plant will shut in August, eliminating 120 jobs.

TRW - Trucking Business Unusual

The layoffs at TRW might be small but is an example of how the 2007 EPA emission standards have affected the entire supply chain of the trucking industry.

From a Dylan McCament article in the Mount Vernon News, TRW has started laying off 160 assembly and machining operations jobs to an undisclosed location. The article states that these jobs are being moved to Georgia.

The Journal & Courier reports that the TRW Lafayette Commercial Steering Division plant in Lafayette has laid off of 25 out of a staff of 270.