Job Creation & Labor
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Foxconn Denies Worker Unrest Slowing Production
October 8, 2012 10:27 am | by Didi Tang, Associated Press | News | CommentsFoxconn Technology Group denied on Saturday that production was affected at a Chinese factory that makes Apple's iPhones, although both state media and an overseas labor watch group said some workers halted production lines on Friday, apparently over higher quality control standards.
Bombardier Workers Reject Contract, Vote To Strike
October 8, 2012 10:23 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBombardier Learjet workers rejected a contract offer and voted to strike Saturday, moves that will have them walking the picket line starting early Monday, a machinists union spokesman said. Bob Wood told The Associated Press that union members voted 79 percent in favor of rejecting the proposed five-year contract and also 79 percent in favor of a strike.
GM Hiring 1,500 For Computer Center Near Detroit
October 8, 2012 10:20 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Motors says it will hire as many as 1,500 workers to staff a new computer technology center in the Detroit suburb of Warren, Mich. GM is shifting computer work into the company from outside firms and plans to open four new technology centers in the U.S. Last month the company announced it would hire 500 people for a center in Austin, Texas.
GM To Move Fuel Cell Research From NY To MI
October 5, 2012 1:58 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Motors Co. plans to close its hydrogen fuel-cell research operation near Rochester, N.Y., and move it to Michigan. The company said Friday that most of the 220 salaried workers in Honeoye (Hun-ee-OY) Falls, N.Y., will be offered the chance to move to GM's engine and transmission research unit in Pontiac, Mich.
BASF Cuts 400 Jobs At Building Chemicals Unit
October 5, 2012 9:52 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGermany's BASF SE says it plans to cut about 400 jobs at its construction chemicals business as it adjusts to a slump in building in parts of Europe. BASF said Thursday that it aims to offer the affected employees jobs elsewhere in the company "wherever possible." It plans to start talks with employee representatives immediately.
Deere-Hitachi NC Excavator Plant May Add 340 Jobs
October 5, 2012 9:51 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNorth Carolina manufacturing workers are looking for good news from an excavating equipment maker considering expansion. Gov. Beverly Perdue plans to be on hand Friday for what her office calls a jobs announcement at the Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corp. plant in Forsyth County.
How To Lose Your Job To A Robot
October 5, 2012 8:49 am | by Chris Fox, Associate Editor, PD&D | Blogs | CommentsA recently posted video entitled Are Droids Taking Our Jobs? explores the job market and how the recession is affecting workers, as well as robot welfare. As our society progresses, robotics and algorithms are becoming more advanced. This has been apparent for quite some time. So, are droids really taking our jobs?
Workers At Toyota's S. African Factory Go On Strike
October 4, 2012 2:40 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsToyota Motor Corp. has suspended operations at its plant in Durban, South Africa, since Monday afternoon, as workers there have been on strike, demanding higher wages, Toyota officials said Thursday. The company is now under negotiations with the representatives of the labor union, the officials said.
Survey: U.S. Businesses Added 162K Jobs In September
October 3, 2012 2:22 pm | by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | News | CommentsA private survey shows that U.S. businesses added fewer workers in September than August, a sign that slow growth may be holding back hiring. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that companies added 162,000 jobs last month. That's below August's total of 189,000, which was revised lower.
Company To Hire Nearly 120 Workers In SC
October 3, 2012 2:12 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAn automotive company that specializes in plastic parts says it will build a plant in South Carolina's Greenville County that employs nearly 120 workers. The state Commerce Department said Wednesday that South Carolina Plastics LLC will spend $12 million to build a plant in Fountain Inn. The company makes parts such as door modules, door handles, cable drum housings and covers for seat belts.
Computer Maker To Bring 115 Jobs To NC
October 3, 2012 10:17 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsElectronics maker Lenovo will start making computers at its warehouse near Greensboro, N.C. The company announced Tuesday that it will hire 115 employees to help make the tablet, notebook and desktop computers at its Whitsett facility about 10 miles east of Greensboro. Lenovo is a Chinese company with a headquarters in Mooresville. The company is trying to expand its sales in the United States.
More Than 2M Workers Strike In Indonesia
October 3, 2012 10:15 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMore than 2 million factory workers went on a one-day strike across Indonesia on Wednesday to demand better benefits and protest the hiring of contract workers, union officials said. Hundreds of thousands of laborers from more than 700 companies in 80 industrial estates also took to the streets to demonstrate, national police spokesman Col. Agus Rianto said.
AFL-CIO Endorses American Crystal Sugar Boycott
October 2, 2012 2:32 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsThe AFL-CIO has endorsed a nationwide consumer boycott of American Crystal Sugar products to protest its 14-month lockout of union workers. In a statement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says they hope the boycott encourages Crystal Sugar to respect the workers who made it an industry leader.
Boeing Engineers Union Rejects Contract Offer
October 2, 2012 2:31 pm | by Phuong Le, Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing Co.'s union of engineers and technical workers overwhelmingly rejected the aerospace giant's first contract offer in ballots tallied Monday night. Union leaders for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, had recommended that the union's 23,000 members say no to Boeing's four-year contract offer.
ND Legislature May Take Up Lockout Benefit Dispute
October 1, 2012 1:59 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA lawmaker says he's expecting the North Dakota Legislature to take up the issue of whether workers who are locked out of their jobs should get unemployment benefits. The North Dakota Supreme Court is considering whether state law provides jobless benefits for about 400 locked-out workers at American Crystal Sugar Co.
Canadian Chrysler Workers Accept New Contract
October 1, 2012 10:21 am | by Charmaine Noronha, Associated Press | News | CommentsCanadian auto workers at Chrysler ratified a new contract with the automaker, the auto union said Sunday. The Canadian Auto Workers union said 90 percent of those voting approved the tentative deal that was reached last week. It was not immediately clear how many of the 8,000 workers at Chrysler's plants in Ontario cast ballots in the ratification vote held this weekend.
Giant Stickers Become Protest Tool At Auto Show
October 1, 2012 10:17 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsWorkers at a Ford factory in France swarmed the Paris Auto Show with giant stickers, plastering about 20 cars around the hall to protest lost jobs in the automotive industry. About 400 workers, most from a factory in the southwestern city of Blanquefort, joined the protest on Saturday. Eric Gontier, a union official at the protest says "France needs industry."
Steelworkers Ratify 3-Year Pact With U.S. Steel
October 1, 2012 10:12 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsMembers of the United Steelworkers have approved a new three-year contract with U.S. Steel. The union said in a statement Friday that members ratified the contract by a margin of about four to one. Both sides of the negotiating team had announced the agreement earlier this month.
Rising U.S. Exports Could Help Create 5M Jobs By 2020
October 1, 2012 8:04 am | Articles | CommentsManufactured exports—a bright spot of the U.S. economy in recent years—are set to surge. Combined with jobs created as a result of reshoring, higher U.S. exports could add 2.5 million to 5 million jobs by the end of the decade, as manufacturers shift production from leading European countries and Japan to take advantage of substantially lower costs in the U.S., according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Canadian GM Workers Accept Contract
September 28, 2012 10:04 am | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsCanadian auto workers at GM have voted to accept the new contract that their union leadership negotiated last week, the union said Thursday. The Canadian Auto Workers union said 73 percent of its GM members accepted the four-year deal. The union said about half of the 5,500 workers at GM Canada cast ballots.
Campbell Closing Plants As Soup Consumption Falls
September 28, 2012 9:59 am | by Candice Choi, Michelle Chapman, Associated Press | News | CommentsCampbell Soup Co. is closing two U.S. plants and cutting more than 700 jobs as it looks to trim costs amid declining consumption of its canned soups. The world's largest soup maker said Thursday that it will close a plant in Sacramento, Calif., that has about 700 full-time workers.
Will 3D Printing Save The ‘TechBelt’?
September 28, 2012 8:12 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Articles | CommentsThe “TechBelt” region has been hit hard by the recession, with numerous plant closures and the loss of manufacturing jobs. The I-80/I-79 corridor has nearly 32,000 manufacturers, and countless employees who have those “high-tech” skills that modern manufacturers need to thrive, but oftentimes, there simply isn’t enough work to go around.
Canadian Auto Union Reaches Deal With Chrysler
September 27, 2012 2:01 pm | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Canadian Auto Workers union agreed to a new labor contract with Chrysler on Wednesday night, ending weeks of talks with the Detroit automakers and avoiding strikes and the possibility production will move to the United States. CAW President Ken Lewenza said Chrysler matched the four-year agreements the union reached with Ford and GM this month.
Jobs Lost As OH Plant Loses Military Contract
September 27, 2012 1:56 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAbout 160 people who work at a southern Ohio plant will lose their jobs when the manufacturer transfers its military production to Texas. WLWT-TV reports that it'll be the latest round of cuts at the BAE Systems plant in West Chester, north of Cincinnati. The plant has already laid off several hundred workers since losing a $3 billion military contract to a Wisconsin company.
Canada Auto Union Nears Deal With Chrysler
September 26, 2012 2:12 pm | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Canadian Auto Workers union says it is close to reaching a new labor deal with Chrysler. CAW spokeswoman Shannon Devine said Wednesday it is quite possible the union will reach an agreement Wednesday night. The union wants Chrysler to match the deals it has reached with Ford and GM.
