A friend of mine recently sent me a link regarding a large layoff currently happening at the large Sterling plant in my old hometown of St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. This obviously comes as a very upsetting note to me since I know how many people and families in the city were dependant on that plant. St. Thomas already has it’s share of problems and I have a fear that this will only make things worse. How can it not?
Yet this mass layoff is just another of many to occur in the manufacturing industry. As our economy becomes more creative and service-oriented, manufacturing jobs will only decline. The northeastern region of North America (not so affectionately called the Rustbelt) is one of the biggest victims of such a decline and many once prosperous cities (such as Detroit, Buffalo and Hamilton) have all degraded due to this trend.
But there may be hope. Diversification in areas such as information technology or biotechnology may be able to keep cities and towns such as St. Thomas continuosly competitive. However, for the moment, it appears to be dark times ahead for my old hometown.
To read more about the mass layoffs at the Sterling plant in St. Thomas, click here
