Pratt & Whitney closing Conn. plants, cutting 1,000 jobs

[Omaha Steve]

Source: NECN

Brian Burnell, Hartford, Conn.

One of the Connecticut's largest employers, Pratt & Whitney, will cut nine percent of its Connecticut workforce, transferring those jobs to other states.

The jet engine maker made the announcement on Monday that jobs would be shifted to Georgia and Asia.

Pratt & Whitney officials said they have no choice but to close two operations in Connecticut at the cost of 1,000 jobs.

The bulk of the work and the jobs are in a plant in Cheshire. A smaller facility in East Hartford will also be shut down, with the work being moved to a non-union plant in Georgia and to Singapore and Japan.


Read more: http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/09/21/Pratt-Whitney-closing-Conn/1253573733.html

[Captain Hilts]

1. Oh, shit!

[TheWatcher]

2. More Proof that The Recession is Over and The Economy is Growing.

Hopefully, there will be many more signs like this in the days and months ahead.

Naysayers just can't understand how AWESOME the Economy is right now, and is going to be by the first quarter of next year.

It's getting to the point that anyone who questions the legitimacy of the Recovery should probably be declared mentally ill or a Terrorist and put in a camp for their own safety. I know it's a rash suggestion, but we have simply got to protect these people from themselves and any damage they could do to the country with their wild-eyed conspiratorial beliefs.

Bernanke and Geithner should get permanent Positions for Life and be given the Medal Of Freedom for their fearless service to our country.

:sarcasm:

[Psephos]

3. Fall-out from cancellation of the F-22 fighter.

P&W is not feeling particularly flush these days.

[salguine]

4. This is where the hammer needs to be brought down. If they still have

stuff to build, they can fucking well build it here. Singapore and Japan!? There's nothing workers there can do that workers here can't do. I don't give a shit if it's cheaper. Some kind of law needs to be enacted to prevent US corporations from moving operations overseas. It's a shitty thing to do in a healthy economy; to do it now is fucking outrageous.

[2Design]

6. are they building usa military equipment - cancel their contracts unless usa made n/t

[Owl]

13. Absolutely agree!

[2Design]

5. they soaked conn for money for years and now they leave with

the money and jobs - like all - first south, then overseas - they should not even bother in the south since they will just destroy those peoples lives too.

We NEED MORE UNIONS worldwide

[Moosepoop]

7. They have a union.

From the OP's link:

"The next step for the union is court. They will file suit in federal court on Tuesday seeking an injunction to stop the company from moving the jobs out of state."

Does the union have a chance of prevailing? I sure hope so, but I don't know what the chances are.

[PSPS]

8. So, Asia is a state now?

One of the Connecticut's largest employers, Pratt & Whitney, will cut nine percent of its Connecticut workforce, transferring those jobs to other states.

The jet engine maker made the announcement on Monday that jobs would be shifted to Georgia and Asia.

Oh well, I'm sure these 1,000 people will be delighted that, at least according to Obama and his various mouthpieces, the economy is coming back.

[zoff]

9. I have a dear friend that works in East Hartford.

I'll try to get the scoop from him but I am afraid for him. He has 4 kids and a house. He avoided the last round of layoffs but I think this is the end of the line. Effin corporatists.

[provis99]

10. I guess Chris Dodd wouldn't play ball with them.

They are not getting rid of the jobs, merely transferring them out of state, to punish those politicians who froze the F-22 project. As far as I'm concerned, I could care less if Pratt and Whitney goes bankrupt.

[lovelyrita]

11. I'm from the Hartford area and Pratt and Whitney going

bankrupt would be detrimental to the area. DH and I are worried about his Dad's job with United Technology/Hamilton Sunstrand, they have been laying off lots of people too.

[FBaggins]

12. More from a local source

"Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell had pledged $100 million in tax credits over five years in an offer that was contingent on retaining jobs, and union workers had offered millions more in concessions. But those offers did not change the decision by Hartford-based United Technologies Corp., Pratt's parent company." (from the Hartford Courant)

http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/09/pratt-closing-plant-and-elimin.html

They also point out that this is more than 1,000 jobs... because there are between 3,000-6,000 people at other companies who make many of the components that these 1,000 assemble.