Friday, January 20, 2012

"Thank You, Sir. May I Have Another?"


image: "For the Better" - unless you happen to have been employed there.

At first glance, this story from the Hartford Courant looked like just another routine tale of American manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas:
PerkinElmer, a global manufacturer with more than 500 employees in Shelton, is eliminating close to 75 jobs as it moves four product lines to England and Singapore.

The company, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, lauded the Shelton location for its safety and environmental stewardship in its last corporate social responsibility report.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state officials visited the Shelton plant in July as part of the governor's jobs tour, but no one from PerkinElmer talked to the state before choosing to transfer jobs overseas. The company told its employees Wednesday about the layoffs.
But then, someone had the bright idea to go interview the local Chamber of Commerce flack to get his opinion:
Bill Purcell, president of the Valley Chamber of Commerce, which invited the governor and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith to visit, said: "It's not an accident that we invited the governor there because they do represent — and they still do represent — all the best Connecticut has to offer; innovation, progress, globalization, exporters, and good global citizens."
Yeah, fat lot of good that did, Mr. Purcell. You sound like an abused spouse telling the policeman she doesn't want to press charges. You got any more inane blather for us?
Purcell said the layoffs will begin in the second half of 2012, and continue into the early part of 2013.

"Obviously it's disappointing to hear, we're grateful for what will remain, and know they'll continue to be big players here, not only in our state and in our region but on the global stage."
Thank you, sir. May I have another?
"Their tagline is 'For the Better,' and they are making the world a better place as a result of the important work they do," Purcell said. The instruments the company designs and manufacturers are used in medical and environmental testing.
Bend me, shape me, any way you want me.
Purcell said PerkinElmer "made a very, very substantial investment in that property. They've been just a terrific company, a great employer, great innovator, a great exporter, a wonderful and gracious corporate citizen."
Holy crap, what a pathetic, craven, simpering little worm. If this guy is what passes for a "business leader" in America these days, no wonder we are headed right down the shitter.

5 comments:

  1. Here's an interesting story about the company's most famous classified product ... http://www.theblaze.com/stories/heres-a-super-secret-cold-war-spy-satellite-program-revealed/

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  2. @Mr. Sunshine - Spy satellites? Yeah, some great "global citizens" they are. Sheesh!

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  3. I'm telling you Bill - this is all part of the great Homeopathic Economic Solutions, inc.=creating jobs through unemployment...

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  4. Its getting expensive in CT. The state has been raising taxes, the minmium wage, and cutting back on real services citizens and business need all of the new tax revenue is to support pensions and promised benefits to state workers. It also has a very high gasoline tax and CT is now the second most expensive state for electricity. PE is not the only company downsizing in CT. Some businesses like PE will ship jobs overseas and some will ship out of state. Some business will just close doors.

    CT not really a manufacturing state, its a service state, providing mostly finance services, Insurance, Financials (UBS, RBS, etc, hedge funds), and some healthcare/pharmaceutals. CT is also dead last in Agraculture. Even Alaska has more Agraculture per capita than CT. Of course when the dollar collapses, CT is doomed since it totally dependant of Financial services for jobs.

    PE is a dinosaur that is slowly dying, its been losing jobs for well over a decade. PE has closed plants that have been idle for years with commerical property signs for sale or lease. Some of the former PE buildings have been re-puposed for retail shopping, and storage facilities. None to my knowledge have been reused for manufacturing after PE closed down its facilities. PE had manufacturing facilities all over CT.

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  5. Moving production to England!?
    Bloody 'ell - I didn't realise the UK had become a low-pay, sweat-shop labour economy so quickly.
    I should get out more.

    All you happy workers in Vietnam and Sierra Leone had better watch out too.

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