Quote :

" (NYSE: MO) today announced plans by its tobacco subsidiaries to optimize worldwide cigarette production by moving U.S.-based cigarette production for non-U.S. markets to PMI facilities in Europe. Due to declining U.S. cigarette volume, as well as PMI's decision to re-source its production, PM USA will close its Cabarrus, NC manufacturing facility and consolidate manufacturing for the U.S. market at its Richmond, VA Manufacturing Center. Altria Group, Inc. said that it expects PM USA to record an initial pre-tax charge of approximately $325 million or $0.10 per Altria share in the second quarter of 2007 for costs related to the program, primarily for employee separation, with additional estimated charges of approximately $50 million for the remainder of 2007. "

Is anyone elses family affected by this?

6/26/2007 5:53:44 PM

maybe the mexicans will start flocking to europe now

6/26/2007 5:57:30 PM

yeah im from concord and i'd imagine i'll know a few people who this will fuck over

6/26/2007 6:13:34 PM

another town bites the dust

6/26/2007 6:14:19 PM

Just another example of outsourcing our low paying jobs to free up resources.

As an Altria stockholder I hope things go well.

As a non-smoker I love to see the tobacco jobs go abroad because it will hurt the lobbyists.

As a capitalist I hope the employees take advantage of their safety net and the retraining programs made available to them. 60% of them will end up making higher wages if they're willing to work.

6/26/2007 6:37:39 PM

whaaaaaa

thank god for the speedway and the mall because concord would be fuuuuuuuucked

good think my family doesnt work there

6/26/2007 6:50:37 PM

obligatory george w bush fucking sucks comment

6/26/2007 6:58:28 PM

^^ i grew up in Harrisburg/concord and no one i knew personally even worked in cabarrus county. obviously tons of people do but hardly anyone in my neighborhood. the area is growing very fast. Obviously this is going to hurt quite a few people who did have jobs there but it wont dent the growing northeast Charlotte suburbs.

in fact out of all the kids i hung out with growing up in my neighborhood, my mom is the only one currently working in Cabbarus county, and thats only because she got offered a lot to help head school nursing for the middle schools there.

[Edited on June 26, 2007 at 7:13 PM. Reason : ]

6/26/2007 7:10:31 PM

I grew up in concord and only some of the lower blue collar families were employed by the plant. Thankfully that county has ALOT more going for it than just that plant, and I also can't say I know anyone who ever worked there

6/26/2007 7:45:34 PM

oh shit, let the TRA/TAA appeals roll in

6/26/2007 7:50:11 PM

don't care

6/26/2007 7:54:33 PM

i only knew a few people that worked there

only 2500 are getting laid off

6/26/2007 8:05:18 PM

yeah, i'm usually pretty sympathetic to cases like this, but i'm not opposed to these people finding other jobs where they can actually contribute something to society

6/26/2007 8:09:18 PM

yea that too ^

6/26/2007 8:19:37 PM

Quote :

"another town bites the dust"

i was born, raised, and still live in concord. Yeah this hurts a lot of people, but nothing compared to what it would have 10 years ago. Concord will be fine.

6/26/2007 9:32:21 PM

Luckily my dad was planning on retiring in 2011 and he will be able to work untill after the plant closes and get his maximum retirement pay. Alot of people will have to move to richmond or find a new job though.

6/26/2007 9:43:12 PM

You people must think jobs grow on trees! People can't just leave a job and find something else to do where they "contribute to society" so easily, do you understand the job shortage already taking place in NC? These people do contribute to society anyway, they help get the smokers their cigarettes (although in another country), contribute money to Cabarrus county, and keep farmers farming. Would you rather them sell you clothes in the mall?

PM closing will really strike a blow to Cabarrus County revenue...they account for 1/3 of the countys revenue.

6/26/2007 10:13:30 PM

concord mills will rise up and take over

also cigarettes are evil so I dont feel bad

6/26/2007 10:38:37 PM

Oh shit! I'm from Concord, this is huge news.

6/26/2007 10:48:11 PM

http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/616968.html

Quote :

"Rockingham County will gain about 200 tobacco-manufacturing jobs over the next three years as a Miami company shifts its production from South America. General Tobacco, the sixth- largest tobacco manufacturer in the United States, said it plans to spend about $50 million on equipment and $5 million on upgrading the former Unifi plant. The plant is expected to be operational within a year. "

maybe they can get jobs here.

6/27/2007 2:30:31 AM

cant they just grow corn instead to fuel this ethanol craze?

alternate fuels to get us off foreign fuel trumps cigs

6/27/2007 2:35:43 AM

next thing you know, smoking will be banned in restaurants, bars, etc

the fact that NC is the tobacco capital of the world is no longer going to help NC's argument against banning smoking

6/27/2007 2:39:57 AM

no great loss here.

tobacco is a waste of arable land and a truly worthless (in terms of necessity, not revenue) industry.

6/27/2007 5:52:16 AM

Quote :

"Is anyone elses family affected by this?"

Yeah, the families of all the people who just might experience a lull in smoking due to shortages and/or no free cigarettes given out to workers (if they are given), etc.

6/27/2007 6:24:43 AM

shut up

6/27/2007 8:18:22 AM

all those who work in the tobacco industry will go to hell. as will those in fast food. and many other industries as well.

6/27/2007 8:56:01 AM

when did you become an evangelical neocon?

6/27/2007 9:12:23 AM

the mayor said PM was responsible for 13% of concord's tax base

Quote :

"As a non-smoker I love to see the tobacco jobs go abroad because it will hurt the lobbyists."

and ravage NC's economy.

Quote :

"Yeah, the families of all the people who just might experience a lull in smoking due to shortages and/or no free cigarettes given out to workers (if they are given), etc. "

I know it's early, but that was the dumbest thing I've seen today.

[Edited on June 27, 2007 at 10:02 AM. Reason : .]

6/27/2007 10:01:35 AM

man i think we need an Official Concord NC Roll Call thread

i didnt realize there were so many of us

6/27/2007 2:39:06 PM

They're given cigarettes and dip, not that that really has anything to do with it...

You have to understand that the cigs made at this plant are made for another country anyway, so...no shortage of cigarettes for Americans.

And tobacco is such a great crop. It will grow on land that nothing else will grow on, and its such a productive plant (although I am not saying that it is easy to grow and farm). Its a perfect plant for someone with a smaller tract of land, too small for wheat. So, no, its not a waste of land; its a productive option for land that may have gone to waste.


Yeah, the Rockingham County option sounds good and all, but people in Rockingham County need jobs too. So, there's not too much room for transfer.

[Edited on June 27, 2007 at 2:45 PM. Reason : ]

6/27/2007 2:43:10 PM

Quote :

"all those who work in the tobacco industry will go to hell. as will those in fast food. and many other industries as well."

that should be suspendable

6/27/2007 2:44:31 PM

Concord, NC Roll Call. High School, Grad Year, State Grad Year, one thing you love about concord


I'll start

NW Cabarrus/JM Robinson c/o 2003. NC State c/o 2007. and I love True Value Hickory Grove Hardware

6/27/2007 2:58:14 PM

Concord High c/o '03, NC State c/o '07 and i really like how bored the cops are on a regular basis

6/27/2007 3:15:00 PM

"And tobacco is such a great crop. It will grow on land that nothing else will grow on, and its such a productive plant (although I am not saying that it is easy to grow and farm). Its a perfect plant for someone with a smaller tract of land, too small for wheat. So, no, its not a waste of land; its a productive option for land that may have gone to waste."


do what now? tobacco may grow on a road ditch but you wont get a product worth shit.

6/27/2007 4:43:25 PM

.

[Edited on June 27, 2007 at 6:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/27/2007 6:04:24 PM

I live in H-Burg! Central Cab. then NCSSM then NCSU

6/27/2007 8:28:43 PM

where in harrisburg?

I grew up in harrisburg from the time i was 7 until the time i went away to college. parents still live there

6/27/2007 8:43:46 PM

they can always learn welding or small engine repair@!!!!2

6/27/2007 8:54:18 PM

^lol

6/27/2007 8:59:24 PM

NW Cabarrus/JM Robinson c/o 2003. NC State c/o 2007.

I love going to steak n shake at 1am and hating it yet always going back.

[Edited on June 27, 2007 at 9:34 PM. Reason : and then realizing that waffle house is 100% better junior year]

6/27/2007 9:33:39 PM

Nick how's Brooklyn treating you? I saw some stuff you wrote on pat's wall (no stalker) sounds like you are doin well.

6/28/2007 8:48:49 AM

By the old country store where lower rocky river meets rocky river rd

Sequoia Hills Dr

6/28/2007 6:38:56 PM

^ its going great.

its hot as a mother fucker here

6/28/2007 7:08:31 PM

Quote :

"they can always learn welding or small engine repair@!!!!2 "

can they make $30 to $40 an hour welding jackleg????

6/28/2007 7:33:39 PM

inside joke. me and the jail guys

[Edited on June 28, 2007 at 7:36 PM. Reason : but you can make maybe 25-35 welding on those new fancy laserbeam weldomatics]

[Edited on June 28, 2007 at 7:37 PM. Reason : THATS WHAT A WELDER TOLD ME. I DO NOT CONDONE WELDING, EVEN IF ITS JUST DUCTWORK]

6/28/2007 7:35:21 PM

6/28/2007 7:36:31 PM

you been to the guilford prison farm? i did my time son

6/28/2007 7:41:53 PM

um, it was a HUGE employer for the city. i had about 4 aunts and uncles that work there. luckily 2 of them were close to retirement so they may get offered a package of some sort.

one uncle was in the military for a while so he got into the job a bit later than the others so he isn't close to retirement so he's going to end up having to find another job at the age of like 50 or move to Virginia.

I almost got a job there. guess i'm kind of glad that i got rejected. I don't have anything against virginia. but if i move a any decent distance away from my family i kind of want to get out of the south.

also, its not like the plant is shutting down and phillip morris is going under. the jobs are just being moved. so if you have a problem with the production of cigarettes then that wouldn't be what this is about anyway. this isn't going to slow down anybody smoking. if you really have enough problem with the company to look at an employee and say "get over it and find another more respectable job" i suggest you should go ahead and start boycotting all the products they deal with.



[Edited on June 29, 2007 at 2:50 AM. Reason : d]

6/29/2007 2:23:24 AM

I've got a friend who works at the Richmond plant. One of the guys from the Cabarrus County plant told him that there were about forty state troopers in the breakroom when the PM CEO made the announcement at the plant--and the guy also said that the CEO was a real dick about it.

6/29/2007 3:05:09 AM

cutting costs, awesome hope my stock increases

6/29/2007 4:49:13 AM