buickanddeere
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John Deere factory in Welland, Ont., to close, cutting 800 jobs
WELLAND, Ont. — Tractor maker Deere & Company (NYSE
E) is closing its factory in Welland, Ont., and moving the work outside Canada by the end of 2009, costing the Ontario economy another 800 manufacturing jobs.
The Welland factory, one of the city's largest employers, makes utility vehicles and attachments for commercial and consumer equipment and for agricultural uses.
The U.S.-based company says it's consolidating its manufacturing operations to improve efficiency and profits, and the work will be moved to plants in Wisconsin and Mexico.
Deere, makers of the famed green-painted John Deere tractor, announced Tuesday that it will take a US$90 million after-tax hit related to the closure. It said about half of this charge will be recorded in the fourth quarter of this year.
Gator utility vehicles, now made at Welland, will move to Horicon, Wis. Cutting and loading attachments will be transferred to Deere's operations in Monterrey and Saltillo, Mexico.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the company's shares were trading down $1.83 at $68.74.
800 JOBS GONE
Niagara economy kicked again with word Welland's John Deere plant will close by the end of 2009
Posted By MARYANNE FIRTH AND MARK TAYTI, SUN MEDIA
Updated 9 hours ago
They didn't see it coming. But the bombshell dropped on stunned John Deere workers Tuesday is sending aftershocks they will continue to feel for weeks and months to come.
Some 800 workers will lose their jobs when the company moves south by the end of 2009, and Welland's oldest and largest industrial employer ceases to exist.
"It's been here 100 years and now, apparently, it's gone," said Dave Porter, who has been employed at John Deere Welland Works for about 10 years.
"This came out of the blue," he said. "It just seems like corporate greed. John Deere made $465 million in the last quarter. People here are stunned."
Porter said the local plant is the size of a postage stamp comparative to the company's other holdings, but makes a lot of money for the company.
"I really don't know what to say. I'm in a little bit of shock," the Wellander said.
"They cut you out like a cancer. Business is heartless and we're finding that out today."
At age 40, Porter said starting over won't be easy.
He said the closure will come as a double-whammy for Atlas Steels workers who managed to get jobs at John Deere after Atlas shut down in 2003, throwing hundreds of unionized employees out of work.
Welland resident Troy Carrey, who has been working at John Deere for more than a decade, said there was "mainly shock" at the Dain City plant as workers learned about the plant closure from the company's U. S. officials during an afternoon meeting. People were "floored."
"All jaws dropped at the same time," Carrey said.
"I thought we were doing all right," he said, "but (tough) economic times call for (tough) economic measures, I guess."
Carrey, who said he has a "pretty young family" to support, said the company had been good to him over the years. He was sad to hear the news.
Marty Burse, of Port Colborne, who has also worked at the plant for the past 10 years, said yesterday's announcement was "totally unexpected."
"I would say 95 per cent of the people there had no idea it was coming."
Burse said there had been rumours floating around and "some talk," but nothing that tipped employees off to a closure.
After the meeting, "a lot of people left the building and cellphones were going off all over," he said.
Employees are anxious to learn more about what the closure means in the coming months.
"We're just rolling with the punches," Burse said, "doing what we have to do now."
Port Colborne's Trevor Barnfield, who has been working at the plant for the past nine years, said he had been recently checking John Deere's corporate website, which reported the company would be expanding its output of tractors from its Waterloo, Iowa location.
When Barnfield headed into Tuesday's meeting, he was expecting good news. What he got was a "big disappointment. Welland's turning into a ghost town."
Company spokesman Ken Golden said it has been difficult for the company to be profitable in Canada as the value of the Canadian dollar soared, with "most products built here sold in the U. S."
Career counselling will be available to employees at the plant, said Golden.
People will begin leaving the company in February and the other job losses will be "spread through the year."
This allows time for employees to "adjust, change, and find the next move," he said.
The Welland plant was expected to resume production this morning. The CAW has scheduled a meeting next week with company officials.
Welland New nnalert MPP Peter Kormos called yesterday's news worse than word of a recession.
"When it's a recession, you lose jobs but then you get most of them back when the recession's over," he said. "This is globalization and free trade -
thank you Mr. (Brian) Mulroney, thank you Mr. (Jean) Chretien coming home to roost," Kormos said.
It's not that there's not market for the machinery being manufactured in Welland. It's simply that it's cheaper to manufacture that equipment in Mexico, he said.
Canadian Auto Workers union national representative Mike Menicanin said Tuesday's announcement is "devastating," not only for the workforce but for a community that is already struggling with the loss of good manufacturing jobs.
No one knows how the closure will impact plant jobs in the short term. Menicanin said the union is trying to get as much information as it can between now and when it meets with John Deere officials.
"Our first goal is to try and save the plant," Menicanin said. "We have to explore every opportunity to keep the plant open."
Article ID# 1182702
WELLAND, Ont. — Tractor maker Deere & Company (NYSE
E) is closing its factory in Welland, Ont., and moving the work outside Canada by the end of 2009, costing the Ontario economy another 800 manufacturing jobs.The Welland factory, one of the city's largest employers, makes utility vehicles and attachments for commercial and consumer equipment and for agricultural uses.
The U.S.-based company says it's consolidating its manufacturing operations to improve efficiency and profits, and the work will be moved to plants in Wisconsin and Mexico.
Deere, makers of the famed green-painted John Deere tractor, announced Tuesday that it will take a US$90 million after-tax hit related to the closure. It said about half of this charge will be recorded in the fourth quarter of this year.
Gator utility vehicles, now made at Welland, will move to Horicon, Wis. Cutting and loading attachments will be transferred to Deere's operations in Monterrey and Saltillo, Mexico.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the company's shares were trading down $1.83 at $68.74.
800 JOBS GONE
Niagara economy kicked again with word Welland's John Deere plant will close by the end of 2009
Posted By MARYANNE FIRTH AND MARK TAYTI, SUN MEDIA
Updated 9 hours ago
They didn't see it coming. But the bombshell dropped on stunned John Deere workers Tuesday is sending aftershocks they will continue to feel for weeks and months to come.
Some 800 workers will lose their jobs when the company moves south by the end of 2009, and Welland's oldest and largest industrial employer ceases to exist.
"It's been here 100 years and now, apparently, it's gone," said Dave Porter, who has been employed at John Deere Welland Works for about 10 years.
"This came out of the blue," he said. "It just seems like corporate greed. John Deere made $465 million in the last quarter. People here are stunned."
Porter said the local plant is the size of a postage stamp comparative to the company's other holdings, but makes a lot of money for the company.
"I really don't know what to say. I'm in a little bit of shock," the Wellander said.
"They cut you out like a cancer. Business is heartless and we're finding that out today."
At age 40, Porter said starting over won't be easy.
He said the closure will come as a double-whammy for Atlas Steels workers who managed to get jobs at John Deere after Atlas shut down in 2003, throwing hundreds of unionized employees out of work.
Welland resident Troy Carrey, who has been working at John Deere for more than a decade, said there was "mainly shock" at the Dain City plant as workers learned about the plant closure from the company's U. S. officials during an afternoon meeting. People were "floored."
"All jaws dropped at the same time," Carrey said.
"I thought we were doing all right," he said, "but (tough) economic times call for (tough) economic measures, I guess."
Carrey, who said he has a "pretty young family" to support, said the company had been good to him over the years. He was sad to hear the news.
Marty Burse, of Port Colborne, who has also worked at the plant for the past 10 years, said yesterday's announcement was "totally unexpected."
"I would say 95 per cent of the people there had no idea it was coming."
Burse said there had been rumours floating around and "some talk," but nothing that tipped employees off to a closure.
After the meeting, "a lot of people left the building and cellphones were going off all over," he said.
Employees are anxious to learn more about what the closure means in the coming months.
"We're just rolling with the punches," Burse said, "doing what we have to do now."
Port Colborne's Trevor Barnfield, who has been working at the plant for the past nine years, said he had been recently checking John Deere's corporate website, which reported the company would be expanding its output of tractors from its Waterloo, Iowa location.
When Barnfield headed into Tuesday's meeting, he was expecting good news. What he got was a "big disappointment. Welland's turning into a ghost town."
Company spokesman Ken Golden said it has been difficult for the company to be profitable in Canada as the value of the Canadian dollar soared, with "most products built here sold in the U. S."
Career counselling will be available to employees at the plant, said Golden.
People will begin leaving the company in February and the other job losses will be "spread through the year."
This allows time for employees to "adjust, change, and find the next move," he said.
The Welland plant was expected to resume production this morning. The CAW has scheduled a meeting next week with company officials.
Welland New nnalert MPP Peter Kormos called yesterday's news worse than word of a recession.
"When it's a recession, you lose jobs but then you get most of them back when the recession's over," he said. "This is globalization and free trade -
thank you Mr. (Brian) Mulroney, thank you Mr. (Jean) Chretien coming home to roost," Kormos said.
It's not that there's not market for the machinery being manufactured in Welland. It's simply that it's cheaper to manufacture that equipment in Mexico, he said.
Canadian Auto Workers union national representative Mike Menicanin said Tuesday's announcement is "devastating," not only for the workforce but for a community that is already struggling with the loss of good manufacturing jobs.
No one knows how the closure will impact plant jobs in the short term. Menicanin said the union is trying to get as much information as it can between now and when it meets with John Deere officials.
"Our first goal is to try and save the plant," Menicanin said. "We have to explore every opportunity to keep the plant open."
Article ID# 1182702
