GOODRICH JOBS STILL DOWN THE TUBES - Product Lines May Be Shifted Abroad

(12/31/2001)

Spencer's B. F. Goodrich plant is still on track to be closed, with efforts by Governor Bob Wise, Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito and others, going unheeded. The company has announced evacuation system production will be moved to Phoenix. Plant manager Dave Stalnaker has said the closing will happen sometime in the third and fourth quarter of 2002. 147 workers will loose their jobs. The closure has mostly been blamed on declining orders from Boeing Aircraft since the terrorist attack, although the entire company is laying off 10% of their workers worldwide. Several Goodrich employees, who asked not to be identified, feel the jobs were in jeopardy before September 11, and the down sizing announced by the company will eventually be linked to producing products abroad. The company has been establishing operations in India, and some local Goodrich employees have been sent there to train workers. The company denies shifting the Spencer job slots abroad. Spencer's 400 plus Kellwood jobs recently went to Mexico. Several former Kellwood employees are now completing a computer job re-training class in Roane and Calhoun.

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