Dont take manufacturing off Long Island (New York, Hauppauge: foreclose, homes, unemployment)

[LIgal718]

our concerns over the recent rumors surrounding our company GE Aviation. These rumors have indicated that GE has decided to move the business off of Long Island to Vandalia Ohio.
There are 275 employees here that will have no income, no medical benefits and will be left standing on the unemployment line if this move happens. We have tried to get answers from our Human Resources department and from the General Manager to no avail. Their answer is that these are just rumors and they know just as much as we do and it is up to us as supervisors to "keep the people focused on their jobs and put all else in the back of their minds." This is becoming increasingly more difficult to do. They are bringing people into the building at 1:00 in the morning to look at our Manufacturing operations. If there was nothing going on why would they feel the need to sneak around? There was also a letter published in the Dayton (Vandalia) Business Journal on May 11th stating that a GE New York based company could create 130 new jobs in Ohio. We are the only GE Long Island based company. We are an $80 million dollar electronics company whose profits were over $20 million dollars last year. We are expecting to grow to $110 million dollars next year with a potential of 20 new jobs to be added. We have been in Bohemia foe over 40 years and have a reputation that speaks for itself.
The impact of the company leaving Long Island not only affects the employees but also our local vendors,( we spend over $5 million with local companies) LIPA and New York State in taxes. We face the prospect of not being able to find jobs and worse having to foreclose on our homes.
There was a meeting held on July 29th at our facility with Mike Chanatry,Senoir Executive Business Operations, where we were allowed to ask questions. He basically told us we were 1 of 6 companies that GE was looking to "consolidate". We asked why they would consider such a profitable company and he told us there were other factors such as the cost of doing business on Long Island. We do not want to become another OSI. We need to keep businesses here on Long Island ,especially highly profitable businesses and we need your help to do it.
Some one has to know someonw to get some answers , I have emailed all the congress and town people with no help
Thank you
LIGAL

[mr.mrs.b.i]

Wish I could help

It's a shame what this economy is doing to us.

[Jrprofess]

It is a matter of the cost of doing business, especially with the infrastructure costs, wage pressures and transportation/shipping challenges of the Long Island Region. In Ohio you have a lot of displaced manufacturing engineers from the various auto companies and related vendors who have the same skillsets and infrastructure at a fraction of the cost. It is troubling but the region needs to ask itself if it really can be a sustainable manufacturing hub. The answer is likely no. So what can the region be instead that would actually attract or keep a company. High Tech? Environmental Sciences? Financial Services off-shoot like Greenwich, CT, etc.?? That is probably where the focus should shift so we can actually grow an industry rather than slowly push them out of the region. I empathize with your situation but manufacturing has been languishing for years and is probably not the right place to put our economic development dollars long-term.

[rocafeller05]

So why do you think they should stay here? Everything from a business owners perspective on LI is negative compared to Vandalia, Ohio. Everything is cheaper across the entire board...taxes, building operating costs, employee pay, shipping, health benefits, etc. etc, etc. Our politician's better wake up soon before all these companies move off.

[zulu400]

If there is any business that can be easily relocated.... then they are stupid to stay in New York.
This is just from the angle of how business friendly the State is, probably the worst in the nation.

Seriously speaking.... how many businesses are really based on Long Island.... and I'm not asking about the Joe Deli or the Moe sprinkler head guy.... but companies having more than a 100 employees located here physically on Long Island and not commuting to or fro from here ?

[dman72]

The only way to keep a company here is through tax incentives to offset the ridiculous cost of doing business. My company pays a "congestion surcharge" for everything that we ship out of here.

[rocafeller05]

I know of 2 companies just in our little work cul de sac that left the island in the past 8 months. Guess where to? Yeppers.....NC..one went to Charlotte area and the other Cary area. Right there was a total of about 100 employees. The manager said that about 50% were relocating with the company. Its sad but a tale of the times as it gets more and more expensive to business here.

[mr.mrs.b.i]

Snapple used to be, they moved.

We still have a major Grumman thing in bethpage. A few other smaller stations around here and there.

It's a shame bout snapple...they used to be in my home town of VS!

[rh71]

It's just cheaper elsewhere... I work for a top global IT company with ridiculous profits every year yet our jobs are threatened every single quarter for the past few years. The latest is they're threatening to force us to move to Iowa of all places. Nobody is going to do that even if it means their job because relocation is not covered and many would sell their homes for a loss. And it's Iowa. It's basically a forced resignation if the company goes through with it. Workers don't matter to big companies. Best of luck to you but you can't take it personally when it comes to corporations. The only thing I can say is improve yourself for when/if they do show you the door. Time for a new tradeskill perhaps... I've been thinking about it.

[scottzilla]

LI lost most of it's manufacturing back in the early 90's. The once thriving Hauppauge and Bohemia industrial parks were like ghost towns for many years and it took a long time for things to come back.