Job Creation & Labor
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Locked Out Crystal Workers Head Back To Work
April 16, 2013 10:19 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsUnion members will soon head back to work at American Crystal Sugar plants in Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota, but they say the sting of a 20-month lockout will make their return difficult both for them and the company. A slight majority of union members voted to accept the company's contract offer over the weekend after rejecting the same terms four times before.
Advanced Manufacturing: GE’s Response To Full Employment
April 16, 2013 8:00 am | by Tom Kadala, Founder and CEO of Alternative Technology Corporation | Blogs | CommentsWhen Tom Donilon, the National Security Advisor for President Obama was asked what the two most pressing issues that kept him up at night, he replied, terrorist attacks and the US declining national competitiveness. The backdrop of 600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs at a time when unemployment is near 8 percent has most certainly been his nightmare in the making.
Metal Company Brings 146 Jobs To South Carolina
April 12, 2013 3:30 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA metal fabrication company says it is coming to South Carolina's Anderson County and will hire nearly 150 workers. SMF Inc. plans to spend nearly $6 million putting its new plant in an existing building, opening in July. The company hopes to have 146 employees working in the plant by 2018.
ME Gun Manufacturer To Lay Off 110
April 12, 2013 10:05 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDefense contractor General Dynamics Corp. is laying off more than 100 workers at its gun manufacturing plant in Saco. Spokesman Karl Johnson says 110 workers representing nearly a third of the plant's work force have been notified that they'll be let go between June 14 and July 1.
Nissan To Increase Pay At TN, MS Plants
April 12, 2013 10:02 am | by Jeff Amy, Associated Press | News | CommentsNissan Motor Co. will raise pay for its employees in Mississippi and Tennessee. The company has told its employees it will increase their wages starting in October at its Canton, Miss., and Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plants, as well as its Decherd, Tenn., engine plant.
Bristol-Myers Plans Major MA Expansion
April 12, 2013 9:59 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDrug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has announced a $250 million expansion of its central Massachusetts manufacturing complex that will eventually employ an additional 350 workers. The expansion announced Thursday will add space for developing biotechnology drugs, called biologics, and for manufacturing those products for clinical trials.
Bill Seeks To Help FL Manufacturing Sector
April 11, 2013 2:13 pm | by Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press | News | CommentsA bill touted as a way to boost Florida's manufacturing sector by extending a sales tax break passed its first test in a state House panel Wednesday, overcoming scattered objections that it amounts to a giveaway without guarantees it would stimulate job growth.
SC Senate Approves $120M In Incentives For Boeing
April 11, 2013 2:10 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsState incentives for Boeing Co.'s expansion plans in North Charleston are clearly ready for takeoff. The Senate voted 37-6 vote on Wednesday to approve $120 million for upfront expansion costs such as utilities and site preparation. Approval of the bill borrowing the money comes a day after Boeing Co. announced it's investing another $1 billion and creating 2,000 new jobs over eight years
Employers Eager For New Foreign Worker Program
April 10, 2013 12:40 pm | by Sam Hananel, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe new W visa program would admit 20,000 low-skilled foreign workers starting in 2015 and could gradually grow up to a cap of 200,000 after five years. The number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and other data.
Discouraging Jobs Report Raises Fear Of Slowing Recovery
April 9, 2013 4:33 pm | by PBSNewsHour | Videos | CommentsA disappointing jobs report has sparked fears of a slowing recovery. Although the unemployment rate dipped slightly, that reduction was attributed to people retiring or who had stopped looking for work. PBS' Judy Woodruff reports on why the job market in March took a sharp decline from the past two months.
Boeing Planning $1B Expansion In SC
April 9, 2013 2:15 pm | by Bruce Smith, Associated Press | News | CommentsBoeing Co. is expanding in South Carolina and will invest another $1 billion, creating 2,000 new jobs during the next eight years, the aerospace giant announced Tuesday. Company spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said the company that operates a 787 assembly plant in North Charleston will expand its operations. The first of the new 787s made in South Carolina rolled off the assembly line about a year ago.
Airbus Breaks Ground On AL Plant
April 8, 2013 2:21 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAirbus broke ground on its first U.S. airplane assembly plant Monday with a ceremony marking the start of a project that could help transform Alabama's coast into an aerospace center. Top company executives and state leaders were in the port city for the event, held at the Airbus site at Brookley Aeroplex. A jetliner parked behind the stage provided a backdrop for the occasion.
Judge Deals Blow To High-Tech Workers' Lawsuit
April 8, 2013 2:17 pm | by Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsA federal judge on Friday struck down an effort to form a class action lawsuit to go after Apple, Google and five other technology companies for allegedly forming an illegal cartel to tamp down workers' wages and prevent the loss of their best engineers during a multiyear conspiracy broken up by government regulators.
Fisker's 80 Percent Staff Cut May Send Luxury Co. Under
April 8, 2013 1:05 pm | by Bloomberg | Videos | CommentsFisker Automotive, a maker of luxury plug-in cars seeking investors to fund operations, said it's firing about 80 percent of its workforce after failing to secure a deal with an automotive partner. Cory Johnson reports on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West.
North Korea Recalls Workers From Jointly Run Factory
April 8, 2013 10:09 am | by Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press | News | CommentsNorth Korea said Monday it will suspend operations at a factory complex it has jointly run with South Korea, pulling out more than 53,000 North Korean workers and moving closer to severing its last economic link with its rival as tensions escalate.
DE Governor Notified Of Fisker Layoffs
April 8, 2013 10:03 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsDelaware Gov. Jack Markell's office says Fisker Automotive has notified the state of plans to lay off most of its remaining work force. Markell spokeswoman Cathy Rossi said in an email Friday that Delaware officials were disheartened to learn of the company's plans.
How To Develop A Welder
April 5, 2013 3:49 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsAccording to a 2011 article in Welding & Gases Today , the welding industry is poised for significant growth over the next decade. But with well over 200,000 available welding jobs predicted, the industry is not exactly jumping for joy. In fact, this key area of metalworking has long been known for the skill gap it consistently faces. So what’s the problem, who will solve it, and – perhaps most importantly – how?
Manufacturing American Efficiency
April 5, 2013 2:35 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsThe majority of today’s LED solutions are not produced in America. And for the first five years of doing business, that was true for NEUTEX Advanced Energy Group as well. Headquartered in Houston, NEUTEX has become one of a list of companies that have recently moved operations to the U.S. from overseas. Today, the company is developing its Houston presence as it positions itself as a leading manufacturer of LED lighting.
CAT To Lay Off Over 400 At IL Plant
April 5, 2013 2:09 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsCaterpillar Inc. says it plans to lay off more than 460 employees this June at its plant in Decatur. Rachel Potts is a spokeswoman for the Peoria-based company. She said Friday that Caterpillar is laying off the employees as part of an ongoing series of production cuts.
GM To Invest Nearly $30M In Bedford Plant
April 5, 2013 2:07 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Motors Co. says it plans to invest nearly $30 million for the production of two new engines and other auto parts at its Bedford Castings plant in southern Indiana. GM said Thursday the Bedford plant will receive $19 million to produce components for a small gas engine and $10.4 million to produce components for a new 8-speed and existing 6-speed transmissions.
Fisker To Cut Workers At Headquarters
April 5, 2013 2:00 pm | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsTroubled electric car maker Fisker Automotive plans to lay off a large number of the workers at its California headquarters on Friday, a person briefed on the matter said. The person, who did not want to be identified because a formal announcement hasn't been made, said the layoffs will be effective at 8 p.m. Pacific time. The exact number was unknown.
Innovation Brings Jobs To WI
April 5, 2013 1:45 pm | by WISC-TV | Videos | CommentsAn innovation in Rock County could lead to about 100 new manufacturing jobs. Monterey Mills in Janesville is rolling out a new product, and it has 14 patents protecting its new collapsible paint roller. The new product won a prestigious award from the American Brush Manufacturers Association and is being hailed as the greatest innovation in the industry since 1946, when the paint roller was invented.
Is Re-Industrialization The Key?
April 5, 2013 8:00 am | by Dr. Tom McNamara, Assistant Professor of Operations Management, Rennes School of Business | Blogs | CommentsMost economists agree that the “Great Recession” of 2008 ended sometime around August 2009, and while the economy has been slowly recovering, unemployment still appears to be a stubborn problem. The headline rate is just a shade under 8 percent, which translates into a little over 12 million Americans out of work.
Workers Seek Severance From Closed PA Solar Plant
April 4, 2013 2:18 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsTen workers who claim they're owed about $197,000 in severance pay want a federal judge in Pittsburgh to force a shuttered plant that makes solar energy mirrors into bankruptcy. The workers are among 60 who lost their jobs when the Flabeg Solar U.S. Corp. plant in Findlay Township shut down on March 28.
GE To Build Global Research Center In Oklahoma
April 4, 2013 2:12 pm | by Tim Talley, Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Electric Co. plans to spend $110 million on a new global research center in the Oklahoma City area that will create 125 new engineering jobs, Gov. Mary Fallin and GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said Wednesday. The center represents GE's longstanding commitment to technological innovation and will work toward advancements in the oil and natural gas fields that will help bring products to market faster, Immelt said.
