La-Z Boy Leaves Tremonton
By Stevie Hoffman
The city of Tremonton, Utah may undergo a job crisis with the La-Z Boy Company closing their doors in less than 60 days. La-Z boy currently employees about 630 employees in the surrounding areas of Tremonton, Utah. The company is moving its production to Mexico where labor costs much less. La-Z Boy has cut 500 jobs and shut down three other plants in the U.S. last year due to a decline in revenue blamed on the housing decline.
The move to Mexico is expected to save $25 million annually from job cuts and cheaper labor by the beginning of the fiscal year 2011. Many employees of La-Z Boy were shocked when the company announced they would be shutting down especially with Utah having a stronger economy than most states. Ricky Collom has worked at the Tremonton La-Z Boy plant for 20 years he always thought “they would be the last plant to close because we’re the only one in the Midwest.” Collom is currently seeking a job at Malt-O-Meal, West Liberty Foods, Thiokol and other major production plants in the surround area.
People seeking work near Tremonton may be in luck as a new Proctor & Gamble will open a paper product plant in Box Elder County that potentially will hire 1,000 employees. Governor’s Office of Economic Development Executive Director Jason Perry said "They [P&G] are one of the best corporate citizens a community could hope for. They train their employees to the highest levels, provide one of the best benefit programs available and support community development wherever they locate." The P&G’s plant will offer jobs with an average annually income of $42,000 and is expected to start production in 2008.
“Kurt L. Darrow, La-Z-Boy’s president and chief executive officer said, “We regret the impact these moves will have on the families and lives of those employees affected and greatly appreciate the contribution of each employee and thank them for their years of dedicated service.” Education will also play a major part in the quest for jobs of the 630 La-Z Boy employees. Many workers have only a high school education at the most which today the job field is competitive with all the job cuts several companies have undergone.
La-Z Boy employees and members of the town of Tremonton and surrounding areas have found comfort in online blogs where they are able to discuss conflicts of the matter amongst each other and give advice. The future of this situation is unpredictable on all the effects it will have on the Box Elder County and surrounding Cache Valley. The economic recession may finally be striking Utah.
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2 comments:
I liked this story, really informative. I would have liked to see more quotes from workers and maybe more things from the families that are going to be impacted, but good job overall.
I'm glad you ran this story, I think it will have a large effect on Tremonton's economy. Good work.
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