Amerock to lay off all 450 factory workers

[UpInArms]

http://www.rrstar.com/business/manufacturing/20040228-14510.shtml

ROCKFORD — Amerock Corp., whose name is a combination of the words “American” and “Rockford,” will lay off its 450 factory employees and ship their work out of Rockford and out of America.

The 75-year-old company announced the layoffs in a four-paragraph news release at 4:30 Friday afternoon, a few hours after company President Robert Bailey and other executives told workers of the pending layoffs at a meeting in the shipping department.

Workers were then told to get their personal belongings and leave. Third-shift workers are due back Sunday night.

<snip>

Those adjustments will primarily take the form of outsourcing. Last year, the company, which makes and markets hardware for cabinets and windows, cut 105 jobs when it started getting hinges from Asia. Some work has gone to Mexico, too.

“The policies of the administration in Washington have failed to help the people who work in manufacturing in Rockford, Illinois, and other cities like it,” Rockford Mayor Doug Scott said. “There needs to be a concerted effort to level the playing field with other countries and to provide incentives that will allow manufacturing to thrive.”

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[saigon68]

1. Brother can you spare a dime

And the children of Huong province will soon have new work to do.

[revcarol]

2. Kucinich will have his work cut out for him as President.

Luckily, strengthening our manufacturing base is an essential part of the program for a strong America.

And bi-lateral trading partnerships instead of NAFTA,WTO will slow the movement of jobs out of the country.

[ex_jew]

3. Another tax cut success story !

You can just feel the economy accelerating.

[Crachet2004]

4. I think outsourcing must be accelerating....

We are going to be hearing stories like this right up to the election.