Sony to close last U.S. TV factory (PA)

[OhioChick]

Source: Computerworld

Manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania will be shut down as part of global restructuring

December 10, 2008 (IDG News Service) Sony Corp. has identified its Westmoreland, Pa., manufacturing plant as the second factory that will be shut down as part of a global restructuring announced on Tuesday.

The Westmoreland factory is Sony's last remaining TV manufacturing facility in the U.S., and the closure will result in 560 people losing their jobs.

On Tuesday, Sony said it planned to close about 10% of its 57 factories worldwide and lay off about 8,000 full-time staffers and a similar number of temporary workers. The cutbacks are part of the company's effort to deal with business slowdowns in many major markets.

"The current economic climate was a key factor that led us to make the strategic business decision to streamline our manufacturing operations not only in the U.S. but worldwide," said Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, in a statement.

Television manufacturing is scheduled to end at the Westmoreland plant by next February, after which Sony will supply the U.S. market from its factory in Baja, Mexico. The U.S. facility will close completely in March 2010, when TV and Blu-ray Disc repair and U.S. east-coast logistics operations down there now are also ended.



Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123160&intsrc=hm_list

[doc03]

1. Wow surprised there was one left. n/t

[Joe Steel]

13. Me too.

I thought they all were gone years ago.

[OhioChick]

15. Same here...

I was surprised to come across this article.

Welcome to DU, Joe! :hi:

[aquart]

2. Well, isn't that special.

What will they do with the building and the land?

[RamboLiberal]

12. Who knows - this plant originally started out as a VW Golf plant

Pennsylvania poured a lot of money including bringing in a rail line to lure VW there back in the 70's. VW closed it in 87 much to the heartbreak of that bunch of workers. And I wonder if this is a cautionary tale to those Southern Repukes who are letting the US car companies die. I wouldn't put any guarantees on the Japanese plants in this country!

LEAD: Volkswagen, the first foreign automobile company to build cars in the United States since the end of World War II, announced today that it will close its American assembly plant by next autumn.

Volkswagen, the first foreign automobile company to build cars in the United States since the end of World War II, announced today that it will close its American assembly plant by next autumn.

The company said the plant, at New Stanton in southwestern Pennsylvania, had been losing money for five years. Because of sluggish sales and intensified competition in the small-car market, the operation offered little hope of becoming profitable, Volkswagen said.

Analysts and auto industry executives said that the closing, which will eliminate 2,500 jobs at the Westmoreland County plant, was part of a realignment under way in the American auto industry because of rising auto imports and the establishment of Japanese-owned plants in this country.


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D6113DF932A15752C1A961948260

[greengestalt]

3. Zeitgeist

Look it up and "Zeitgeist Addendum" on GoogleVids and YouTube...


Time to mobilize against the rich elite.

[Azlady]

4. Geez, come on, enough already, keep the jobs H E R E!

:argh: :argh: :argh:

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. My Mom had the Zenith and Quasar TVs both were American made

Zenith made the first TV remote. I think the last time we made American owned TVs in the US
was the during Bill Clinton's last term.



Zenith was taken over by Korea's LG and Quasar was taken over by Japan's Panasonic

[robinlynne]

6. How about a 25% import tax on any products made out of the country.

Sony might just want to re-open that factory, no?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. Yay! Back to the days of punitive tariffs!

Maybe we could have a war while we're at it.

[robinlynne]

10. a war? where did that come from? Do you think Cafta and nafta are bringing peace?

[Joe Steel]

14. Bring it on.

If that's what it takes to reclaim American economic independence.

[OhioChick]

11. Good idea. That's how it should be. n/t

[No Elephants]

7. Hurts me worse when American-owned companies close their last U.S. factory, but this stinks, too. nt

[Omaha Steve]

8. That sucking sound is jobs going South

"Sony will supply the U.S. market from its factory in Baja, Mexico"

Many people and labor said this would happen.

[makinguphumans]

16. I believe Hershey Co (PA) moved some its plants to Mexico also.

a few years ago.

[OhioChick]

17. You're right.....they did. n/t

[makinguphumans]

18. it is sad to see these US companies just fading away.