5.0. EDSR 12-08-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Developer-December/January 2004 12/2/03 12:16 PM For more than ten years workers at Minnesota Diversified Industries(MDI)in Hibbing, MN have produced plastic tote trays for the U.S.Postal Service.Recently,the Postal Service cut its demand for new trays by one-half.As a result about one-third of the current workforce will lose their jobs.Many of these employees have some level of disability that makes it difficult for them to find employment opportunities elsewhere. MDI,a nonprofit corporation,creates employment for people with disabilities and disadvantages.The company employs about 500 workers at three sites in Minnesota; one-half have disabilities and another 25 percent face significant cultural disadvantages. New employment for the 50 to 60 workers who lost their jobs due to reduced demand for these plastic products will be difficult to find. The world s fourth largest airline will close one of six reservation centers it operates around the country.Detroit s impending loss of its facility serving as a reservation center for Northwest Airlines(NWA)will benefit the five sites remaining open,including two in Minnesota.The Detroit operation will close in December with a loss of more than 560 jobs.NWA s call center in Chisholm will pick up 100 new positions,as will the airline s center in the Twin Cities.The airline also expects to add positions at its three other reservation centers to handle the increased activity following this closing.A small number of employees are expected to transfer from Detroit to one of the five sites remaining open. By the end of this year,State officials will know if Minnesota has landed a service center facility for Bombardier Corporation.The plant would service Bombardier Aerospace aircraft for the western United States.State officials are stressing the high quality workforce and possible tax benefits available to companies creating new jobs in the state. If the state s proposal is successful,the maintenance plant would bring several thousand jobs to northeastern Minnesota.As of early October,the company was still considering plans offered by Minnesota as well as those from other states. Twin Cities/Metro Area One of the country s leading providers of credit products and services has experienced a second round of layoffs in 2003.Metris Companies Inc will cut some 65 workers,most of whom worked in the company s headquarters location in Minnetonka.This reduction follows one early in the year when 180 jobs were affected.In both situations,the company laid off up to one-fourth of its management positions.Metris sees the layoffs as a way to achieve profitability during a slowing economy.Some 500 company jobs will remain in the state after this round of layoffs. A continuing sluggish economy has placed a MN business in the position of experiencing its largest layoff in nearly 100 years of continued operations.The Smead Manufacturing Co.,a company not known for layoffs,recently let go about 50-60 employees due to the persistent decline in sales of its office products.Rather than subject some of its workforce to layoffs over a year ago,the Hastings-based company entered into a"shared work"program available through the MN Dept of Economic Security(now DEED)that allowed employers to reduce workers hours by 20 percent.Affected workers could then draw up to one-half of their lost wages using the company s contributions to the unemployment fund for a limited number of weeks.(See the MN Employment Review, April 2002.)Temporary plans such as these were not sufficient to overcome the prolonged slowdown in sales. Amid accounts that the Ford Motor Company is planning to trim more than 3,000 jobs over the next few months,the local assembly plant received some encouraging news in early October.The St.Paul plant will remain operating for at least the next three years. And not only will the more than 2,000 workers retain their jobs through 2007 but the St.Paul site will be the only Ford facility producing the best-selling Ranger pickup model.The plant s high efficiency rating is thought to have been important in the 411 decision to close the other Ranger production plant and consolidate operations in Minnesota.Ford will close three plants over the next six months while other U.S.sites will experience production slowdowns as the company attempts to cut costs by 10 percent.Another encouraging note will be the addition of a compact pickup model http://www.ewald.com/EDAMENL/EDAMENL/EDAMDecJan2004/EDAMDecJan2004.htm Page 11 of 15