| An Owens Corning spokesman in the story linked to above cites:
continued forecasts for prolonged weakness in demand for building materials.
snip
The line (one of two) is expected to remain curtailed throughout 2008, dependent on market conditions. The curtailment is part of Owens Corning's strategy to ensure that all capacity is aligned with market demand.
I heard an Owens Corning spokesman, maybe the same guy, on the radio today, blaming the roughly 50 percent drop on housing starts for the roughly 50 percent layoff in Selkirk.
One can hardly blame the company, which emerged from bankruptcy last year, for being very careful about a very uncertain near-term outlook for building materials like insulation.
At least the Owens Corning unfortunates were not laid off immediately, like the Georgia-Pacific workers.
Approximately 280 employees of Georgia-Pacific's plywood mill are without jobs today after company officials unexpectedly announced a shutdown this morning.
A combination of factors led to the decision, including market conditions resulting from housing starts at the lowest level in more than 20 years and the expense required for necessary improvements at the facility.
Manufacturing operations have ceased and existing inventory will be shipped over the next few weeks. Employees will be eligible for 60 days of pay and benefits from Georgia-Pacific, after which they will be eligible for unemployment benefits.
Building materials like insulation and plywood are mostly manufactured here, not in China, from raw materials that also are mostly domestic-derived.
These are good jobs, in Selkirk and in Louisiana, and losing them is a personal tragedy/challenge for 400-plus American skilled manufacturing workers.
Just today.
Unfortunately, even though these 400-plus jobs were not sent to China or Mexico, they might as well have been.
Because the Bush/Greenspan housing recession/depression has probably just begun.
The effects of this on local and state tax revenues in NYS will be dire, as will be the effect on already-overburdened property taxpayers.
Spitzer, Silver and Bruno have their work cut out for them in next year's budget; and it is well past time that they begin to work together to try to resolve a crisis that will approach the almost-bankruptcy of NYC in the 1970s.
Driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, "Troopergate," etc., are nowhere near as important as the looming budget crisis, caused mostly by stupid Bush/Greenspan policies.
So, get to work, all of you -- Spitzer, Silver, Bruno, senators, Assembly members, governor's and legislative staff, reporters, editorial writers, etc. -- on THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE -- avoiding the fiscal train wreck we are facing. |
