Entire county will absorb impact of Carrier closing
For a Warren County workforce still limping from the loss of several major industries, Monday’s news that Carrier will close was like a kick to the throat. It’s one blow that’s going to leave local workers gasping for air and grasping for answers as they try to figure out how they will earn a living in the near future.
A handful of Carrier workers will have the benefit of 18 more months of employment until the factory shuts its doors. Others will be without a paycheck as soon as this fall when the company begins moving lines to three other plants.
The only thing we know for sure is the local economy will be crippled. From the Carrier employees who earn $40,000 to $50,000 a year, to every company in this county which relies on Carrier to make up a portion of its revenue, the ripple effect will be far reaching and substantial.
And it won’t just be Warren County folks left scrambling for jobs. Carrier is a major employer for people in Coffee, Grundy and DeKalb counties, just to name a few.
The overwhelming question is where are Carrier’s 1,300 employees going to work? Where are they going to find jobs that pay anywhere close to what they’re earning now?
The straightforward answer is they’re not going to find such jobs in Warren County – certainly not 1,300 of them. WastAway is an up-and-coming company and all indications are it will gradually add several hundred jobs to the local economy. Morrison Tool & Fab is also on the grow after recently leasing the county’s spec building for its own expansion. That will produce more jobs too.
But for folks with a grasp of basic arithmetic, the math doesn’t add up. We’re subtracting 1,300 jobs from Carrier and adding a few hundred elsewhere. That leaves the county roughly 1,000 in the hole.
If you look at the manufacturing job losses this county has sustained over the last five years, the numbers are staggering. Factories which had been embedded in this county for decades closed their doors and left town.
Powermatic, established in 1921, shut down and eliminated 190 jobs. DeZurik, established in 1963, shut down and cut 295 jobs. Findlay closed and 500 jobs were lost. Aquatech took another 365 when it left. Toss in Cookeville Tool & Manufacturing and the 45 jobs it claimed and Warren County has lost at least 1,395 jobs to plant closings in just five years time.
Those 1,395 jobs do not include A.O. Smith which had a workforce estimated at 900 around two years ago. A.O. Smith officials say the plant currently employs around 500. The goal is to have the plant remain operational with around 300 workers by the end of 2004. That’s an estimated 600 more jobs which have been eliminated or scheduled to be cut.
Combine that with the most drastic news thus far – the closing of Carrier and the loss of 1,300 jobs by the end of 2005 – and the figures are numbing. By the end of 2005, Warren County will have lost 3,295 manufacturing jobs in a six-year span.
The sad and unfortunate truth is this county won’t be able to absorb such a direct hit to its workforce. Unemployment will climb. Retail businesses will feel a slowdown. Other companies dependent on Carrier job contracts will be forced to close.
“You feel so helpless,” said County Executive Kenneth Rogers. “I wish I knew what to do.”
At this point, there’s not much that can be done, except to brace for the fallout.