After 65 years, Campbell Soup closing plant (Sacramento, Stockton: sales, buy, compensation)

[CeJeH]

Originally Posted by mattk92681

1950? reference that for me, if you don't mind and have the time...I was born in 1981

I always hear people complaining about bad decisions being made and things going downhill starting in the 50's around here. Don't have an exact reference.

[Mr. Opinionated]

The San Diego North County Times reported a while back..
http://www.nctimes.com/top-ten-reasons-why-companies-are
-leaving-california/article_be130984-2fe2-52f1-b49e-3cc2e28fbe70.html

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

At least the Campbell's "jobs" aren't going overseas. My guess is the plants in the other locations are more automated and won't require as many people to produce the same amount of soup.

$20 says the Comcast jobs end up India.

Outsourced to India - YouTube

[shelato]

When was the last time any of you actually bought and consumed Campbell's Soup? Even for canned soup, Campbell's Soup was really bad. Am I the only person who thought this probably should have occurred much earlier.

Paul Krugman wrote an essay here about why English Food was bad for so long (which I have linked to) and when he was writing about English Food in this essay, I pretty much was wondering at that time well why has Campbell's Soup persisted so long in the US. His essay on why English food was bad for so long and why it has gotten better lately pretty much explains to me why Campbell's Soup is closing its Sacramento plant. As a country our taste buds have evolved beyond such dreck and our incomes have allowed us to afford food that just tastes a whole lot better. I really won't miss Campbell's Soup.

Supply, Demand, and English Food

Now I do feel bad for the employees who lost their jobs. On the other hand, some of the better redevelpment projects in this region have been former Canneries, so I have some hope for the site of the former Campbell Soup plant. The only thing I wonder about is what it will do to the strip of Mexican restaurants that tended to cater to the Hispanic employees at the plant on Franklin.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by shelato

When was the last time any of you actually bought and consumed Campbell's Soup?

Saturday/yesterday. Hearty tomato with pasta.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by mattk92681

First Carls Jr./Hardees

Didn't Carl's cancel their planned move to Texas?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Saturday/yesterday. Hearty tomato with pasta.

Wednesday - cream of celery in a tuna-noodle casserole - 1950s comfort food!

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

I'll be surprised if any other company wants to come in and utilize the facilities since the machines are so outdated. It's a shame Campbell's didn't do more to keep their plant up-to-date. I guess shareholder dividends took precedence.

Gee, could it be that modernizing plant was less difficult in less business hostile states? Just a thought...

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Didn't Carl's cancel their planned move to Texas?

As far as I know, that did cancel the planned move. I can't find a reference for that though. I guess my google-fu is not up to date because, surprise surprise, I can only find conservatives yelling about how their "considered" move to Texas is the death of California business, etc.

[ryuns]

I get that California has a lot of work to do to make itself more friendly for businesses that want to start, expand, etc. It's a real issue that I hope Californian politicians will take seriously. So don't get mad and call me a *******.

BUT JUST BECAUSE A BUSINESS LEAVES OR CLOSES DOESN'T MEAN IT'S CALIFORNIA'S FAULT. Comcast yelled about how hard it is to do business here, and then quickly backed off of that. Who knows what the truth was? But in any case, I don't blame them--they wanted to consolidate and so why not shut down California sites? It's expensive here and the jobs were transferrable, relatively low skill (at least in Comcast's case), and low paying. You wouldn't be able to scrape together a great life in Morgan Hill at near-minimum wage, but you'd have a better shot and better life in suburban Portland.

The other thing that chaps me is the hollering that erupts from the right every time a factory opens or movie films somewhere outside of California as a result of huge incentives and subsidies. Even with taxpayer subsidies, there may be occasions where the result is a net benefit to taxpayers. But as a whole, research shows this amounts to corporate welfare and is a net drain on aggregate public coffers.

Again, if there was something in particular we could put our finger on, I'd love a dialog about it, particularly if politicians would pay attention. There's a cost-benefit to each regulation that actually needs to be discussed. What does it do? Who does it benefit? What's the cost of compliance? Should we keep it? Can we streamline it? Otherwise, all I see are people who blame the state in a vague sort of way or people who defend it based on its credentials (high venture capital investment, high GDP) talking past each other.