Alcoa Howmet, blaming a collapse in demand for industrial gas turbines, said Wednesday that it cut the work force at its Hampton plant by 250 jobs this week.
The plant, which had 1,060 employees before the reductions, makes structural parts for commercial aircraft and blades for industrial gas turbines. Of the employees let go, 90 percent were production workers and the others were salaried, said Jean Moorman, a spokeswoman for Alcoa Power and Propulsion.
The cutbacks came in the midst of impending job losses at other Hampton Roads employers. On Tuesday, U.S. Foodservice Inc. said it will close its Virginia Beach warehouse by the end of January. The distribution facility on Diamond Springs Road near Northampton Boulevard employs 206 workers.
On Monday, the Advanced Services Inc. unit of General Electric Co. said it will shut its Norfolk call center next year. The center will begin cutting its 185-person work force in May and will close by the fourth quarter, Advanced Services said.
International Paper Co. announced in October that it will shut its paper mill near Franklin next spring because of depressed demand. The plant has 1,100 employees.
Earlier this year, Alcoa Howmet invested $14 million in its Hampton plant to increase production of its castings in expectation of greater demand for industrial gas turbines, Moorman said. However, worldwide orders for the turbines plunged 50 percent during the past year as the global economy weakened and demand for electric power fell, she said.
Rather than put some employees on temporary furlough, Alcoa Howmet decided to cut its work force because the company can't determine when demand for its turbine blades might recover, Moorman said.
Tom Shean, (757) 446-2379, tom.shean@pilotonline.com
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Obama OWNS this Economy now
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31924749/ns/business-economy_in_turmoil/ Obama owned it even before he made these "Give it to me" remarks in July 2009. Who can forget that the Obama stimulus package that he had forced the Democrats to ramrod through Congress would keep unemployment around 8% -- that's what he promised hundreds of billions of our tax dollars later. The Liberal Democrat Barack Obama owns this economy and his Liberal policies are NOT helping it. Rather, they are impeding recovery and will continue to do so, because a Liberal can't change his spots whether it will help America or not.
It's the recession, not the government
When are people going to stop blaming a President and an administration for something that started nearly two years ago? It's the economy, not the government. As much as the government would like to just snap its fingers and change things, it just doesn't work that way. It didn't work that way for Herbert Hoover or Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930's, it didn't work that way for Ford, Carter or Reagan in the 70's and early 80's, it didn't work for President Bush senior in the early 90's either. Spending your way out of a recession means you have to have the money to begin with to spend. With all that we're already in hock to the Chinese, should we go even FURTHER in debt to them? This is the time when private investors have to step up and put money back into the economy. No government plan has ever been successful at bringing the country out of economic trouble.
Man, some people will defend
this Administration to the end. You must have a government job.
Dude, what might have been a simple "correction" was exacerbated by the meltdown largely CAUSED by government action/inaction. (Not to excuse some greedy bankers & irresponsible borrowers/consumers, either.) But the likes of Bill Clinton, Phil Gramm, Barney Frank & Chris Dodd are largely to blame for the meltdown that got us to where we are presently.
Similarly, government, led by this American Dream hatin' boob Obama & his abettors in Congress have done nothing but concentrate on programs meant to benefit certain special interests (e.g. those who voted for him like big unions & those who pay no taxes) instead of doing what is necessary to give small business owners (the lifeblood of our economy) confidence & the means to get going again (tax incentives or at least the assurance that they will not be shafted with extra taxes, fees, etc., for every new employee they hire.)
Remember: economic laws, like the physical ones, still apply "up there" as they do at your level.
AND THE HAMPTON ROADS JOB DESTRUCTION CONTINUES
VA. Pilot writers, I know you have to be like what in the world is going on? Again, please put faces to all these layoffs. A front page Sunday piece listing in bold print all the layoffs taking place in this area may shake some uppity folks out of their self righteous stupper.
How many more of us
must lose our jobs before enough see that this Administration (& probably more importantly) Congress just don't get it?
The patient has a brain tumor, yet they're thinking athlete's foot & prescribing hundred dollar sneakers as the cure.
The only hope here is to cut spending, bailouts, & give tax incentives for small businesses & other producers. No amount of mugging in front of a camera or courting SEIU will bring us back from the brink.
Get on the phone or keyboard today & tell your Congressman/Senators to quit screwing around & start thinking in the same terms they do their own household/business finances!
it's only just begun
This type of action, I'm afraid, will be all to frequent as time goes on. I wish all affected well. The days of the small and medium sized business are drawing to a close thanks to all of this "change" we have going on and the fear that people have of losing what they have.