Canadian Personal Finance Blog

I grow weary of hearing large companies saying they are sending jobs “over seas”. I have worked in companies that have done this before, and inevitably the economics of the situation are not all that is visible in the decision.

I was very unhappy to read that Hershey’s is planning on shutting the Smiths Falls plant (near Ottawa) yesterday. I have been lucky enough to visit the plant and it’s store, and more importantly I have met a lot of fine people from Smiths Falls (a town of about 9,000 folks, I think), and they are both top notch (folks and plant). Hershey’s claims this is a matter of economics, and that the plant is too expensive to run and that they most likely will move the operation to Mexico.

Will Hershey save a bundle on this? Maybe, I don’t know, but I have the courage to say that too. No one in the media and most folks at Hershey’s don’t know the actual reasons behind the shut down or the move to Mexico (I suspect). I lament the cold hearted economics that now rule our corporate board rooms. Shutting down plants that aren’t necessarily even “money losers” so that you can make MORE money by moving jobs to Mexico, India or China, when is enough profits enough?

I realize these men and women (on the boards and in upper management) answer to the shareholders of the company (supposedly) and that they are constantly under pressure to make more money, but when did we lose our sense of humanity and community?

Yes, just my opinions here folks, mostly unhappiness knowing some good people are going to lose their jobs. I wish them well, and hope for the best. –C8j