Pratt & Whitney leaving Cheshire by early 2011
Early this afternoon the Town Council was notified by the TM that Pratt & Whitney would be leaving Cheshire by early 2011. I'm sure there'll be plenty of press reports, but here's one troubling fact that P&W included in their "fact sheet:"
ISSUE #3: REMAINING VIABLE IN A HIGH-COST/HIGH-WAGE STATE
Current shop costs at the Cheshire Engine Center are approximately 40 percent higher than the Columbus Engine Center in Georgia. Current shop costs at CARO are about 40 percent higher than Japan Turbine Technologies and 170 percent higher than Turbine Overhaul Services in Singapore.
Since I started knocking on doors back in 2001, I've heard a steady drumbeat from small business owners that they can't afford to keep their shops open in CT. To me, this closure takes this discussion to a whole new level.
Tim White
11 comments:
C'mon, the Crusher's windfall tax breaks to show business got Jerry Springer to film his show in Stamford!!
There's the economic salvation for the rest of CT---reality TV shows!
Ah, let's see, what was it our wonderful local teachers union was saying just a couple of months ago concerning the necessity for an across the board astronomical 4.5% annual pay raise compounded for 3 years? Something like no boarded up businesses and no foreclosed homes.
And what is it that continues to drive some to want to spend millions for artificial grass playing fields? Must be the belief that business is still booming here in CT.
Surprise, the economy and the state's out-of-this-world, out of touch local, state, and national politicians have set us all up for years and years of progressively harder and harder times. Welcome to CT 2010 and beyond.
It’s time to start de-electing the political clowns who have just about completely destroyed what is left of our state-wide economy.
This is bad news but not surprising. For too long our state, both political parties, labor unions and others have made these decisions easier for the likes of Pratt & Whitney to make. Last week the machinists union at a Boeing facility in SC decertified its union so it could keep jobs there and get an expansion from a facility set to close in Washington State, once home to Boeing. It's hardball out there. Lots of blame to go around and instead of being surprised and scratching our heads its time for state leaders to roll up their sleeves and roll back unfriendly rules, regulations and onerous taxes placed on our manufacturers.
Tim Slocum
What are we all worried about?
Ben Bernanke said the recession is over. Did someone forget to tell Pratt & Whitney?
Hey we can count on Chris Dodd to fix the economy. He's just working out the details with people who sell vacation homes and give out mortgages below cost.
Why the surprise??? The engine repair shop was located off of Queen Street in Southington prior to moving to Cheshire...
I'd be concerned with the continuing decline of Commercial Real Estate..yes, we still get some property tax but only if the owner remains solvent. If this isn't leased, Pratt will sell it..
11:41 a.m. strings some interesting factoids together. How about going a step further. Originally Pratt & Whitney was not in Southington. Once they arrived in Southington they inadvertently polluted the site. After they polluted the site they moved out. Cheshire then welcomed them.
Being concerned about declines in commercial real estate is wonderful. There are however still at least a few people left who are just appalled at how CTs heritage of invention, innovation and industry have been trampled by the clowns in our state legislature.
Can a state or nation survive on commercial real estate with no industrial base?
Not a surprise. Pratt is just another company that found Connecticut just too expensive. If we're not the highest taxed state, then we're the second. Look at state spending, it's out of control and Cheshire's spending is also out of control. It is time to eliminate all unecessary programs and projects and bring the salaries of the public sector in line with the private sector and adjust to the reality of a global economy.
While business has had to adjust to lower income by layoffs, salary freezes and postponements of capital purchases, the public sector has done little to cut spending and have simply taken from rainy day funds and raised taxes even more.
I believe that many at Pratt had good paying jobs, but to live in Ct and Cheshire, you need good paying jobs due to the high cost of living which is caused by the literally thousands of taxes on everything. We have taxes that are obvious and hidden taxes, and we even have taxes on top of taxes, cases on which there are both and obvious tax and a hidden tax. It seems that they have figured out how to tax every concievable human activity. All of these taxes simply stifle the human spirit and our economic growth.
And, what they have done by increasing every conciveable tax to close the state budget, will create a windfall when the economy improves, and this windfall will allow even more spending, and the cycle will continue.
It is a hopeless cycle.
8:35
Southington had a factory on the left of aircraft road since the '40's; the Engine Reman Shop was built new in the late 60's and was across the street on the right.
9:29 a.m.- -
Possibly very few of the people left in CT know anything about the long proud history of P&W and it fantastic workforce or its past relationships with other giants of the airplane business, and its many CT facilities, including all those which no longer exist.
Certainly our state legislature and many of our local politicians seem more interested in a future very different from the past 70 years or so.
Maybe those soon to be unemployed skilled workers can improve themselves and become retail sales associates or real estate sales people etc- - -?
While spending so much money of Homeland security, Pratt will be sending repair and other engine work overseas.
Already, I'm starting to feel less safe. I'm sure it is a lot easier for terrorists to infiltrate overseas plants and think how difficult it could be for our government to inspect these plants.
It won't be long before we will have all our weapons produce in China.
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