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homestead - Re: [Homestead] Oops, it's only just beginning

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  • From: "clanSkeen" <sgian AT planetc.com>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Oops, it's only just beginning
  • Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2004 23:13:44 -0500




Floyd County in sw Virginia used to have 3 apparel manufacturing plants (perhaps 4--I might be off). Now there's just one and it's barely holding on. I guess it's the same story everywhere. Two of the plants been a struggle for those who used to be employed at the plant. One of the vacant buildings was recently sold.

Here, not so very far from Floyd County, the greater county area had 20,000 garment jobs. 'Cozy-Dozy' infants wear was one national brand. Now there are about 40 jobs left at Pointer Brand Coveralls because the owners son started selling the garments on the internet directly to consumers - that saved 40 jobs out of 230 they once employed. All the rest are gone. Just to the east of here in the TN/NC border there used to be about 20 furniture manufaturers. Now there are none. All the hardwood is shipped overseas to furniture factories there.

Who didn't see this coming: in an outfit I recently worked for almost every high level IT person is nervous as a cat eyeing the Sword of Damocles - all the equipment - all of it - is HP and HP has offered to do ALL the support off site and overseas eliminating the entire need for any IT personnel at all. I'd have to install a larger hard drive if I'd saved every post on every list where people five and ten years ago staked their financial future on the mistaken notion that "You don't understand they will ALWAYS need people like me, no matter what happens." The last couple of years if an IBM thinkpad fouled up, the instructions were to throw it away and another one correctly configured would be shipped to the looser - eh, I mean, user. Training? All done by powerpoint presentations over the WAN and supported in Brazil or India.

James






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