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| From | Brian Curtis <brioohs@sbcglobal.net> |
| Subject | Re: EMI shake-up today |
| Date | Thu, 01 Apr 2004 11:25:53 +0000 |
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I thought I'd share this article from my local newspaper here in
Springfield, Illinois regarding the EMI plant in nearby Jacksonville.
Brioohs
> JACKSONVILLE - It was an announcement occasionally rumored and long feared in
> Jacksonville.
>
> London-based EMI Group will lay off at least 434 of the approximately 600
> employees at its CD, DVD and cassette manufacturing plant in Jacksonville,
> most by the end of May, as part of plans to contract out its U.S and European
> production and cut 1,500 jobs worldwide.
>
> A distribution center and warehouse will remain in Jacksonville, but it was
> not clear Wednesday how many will keep their jobs.
>
> "Sad. Very sad. It is a big blow to Jacksonville," said one of three employees
> outside the EMI plant on the western edge of Jacksonville. The workers, who
> asked not to be identified, said the company had told them not to talk about
> the shutdown.
>
> The same sentiment quickly spread throughout the community of 20,000, which
> relies heavily on manufacturing.
>
> "Terrible news. For a town our size to lose 434 employees and a mainstay
> company that has been here for 40 years is a horrible blow," said Mayor Ron
> Tendick. "There will be a lot of ripple effects that aren't obvious up front.
> Our biggest concern is the people and their families losing their jobs."
>
> The announcement also represents one of the largest one-time job cuts in
> recent memory for Jacksonville. The last big loss came in 1995, when John
> Deere Life Insurance Co. closed a local facility that had a work force of 150.
>
> Another company, Cybertek, reopened the facility the next day with 50 workers.
>
> Tendick said he had been in touch with state elected officials about the EMI
> announcement. Gov. Rod Blagojevich said state economic development officials
> will seek ways to avoid the layoffs.
>
> Loss of the manufacturing operation means an end to a piece of recording
> history for a plant, constructed by Capitol Records in 1964, that has handled
> artists ranging from the Beatles and Garth Brooks to Janet Jackson and Pink
> Floyd.
>
> The Jacksonville plant began with production of 12-inch records, eventually
> added eight-track tapes and cassettes, and in 1986, became one of the first
> facilities in the United States to begin production of compact discs.
>
> A distribution center was later added to the production facility, which makes
> CDs, DVDs and cassettes seven days a week. The two buildings cover
> approximately 375,000 square feet (about double the size of the Meijer
> superstore in Springfield).
>
> The plant's address is still 1 Capitol Way. Capitol added the EMI name in the
> early 1990s.
>
> EMI cut 1,800 jobs worldwide just over a year ago, including 40 at the
> Jacksonville plant.
>
> EMI representatives said the latest cutbacks include consolidating its artist
> labels, dropping some artists and eliminating production at the plant in
> Jacksonville and a plant in the Netherlands.
>
> Approximately 900 of the jobs are at the manufacturing plants.
>
> "This is part of a global initiative. You can't point to any one particular
> occurrence. . . . It's a variety of factors," said Jeanne Meyer, a spokeswoman
> for EMI North America.
>
> Production from the Jacksonville plant will be turned over to Cinram
> International Inc., based in Toronto, which plans to produce CDs and DVDs for
> EMI at a plant in Richmond, Ind. Production from the plant in the Netherlands
> will be turned over to MediaMotion, a subsidiary of ECF Group, a Dutch
> investment company.
>
> MediaMotion plans to buy the Netherlands plant and to hire some of the
> workers.
>
> Meyer said consumer-buying habits have changed, and illegal downloading of
> music from the Internet also has hurt industry sales.
>
> "It's a reason, though it's not the only reason," she said.
>
> The company projects savings of $95.1 million a year from the cuts.
>
> Meyer said laid-off workers will be offered severance packages based on years
> of service, along with job training and career counseling. Some workers could
> remain beyond the end of May to assist with the plant closeout.
>
> Drake Beam Morin Inc. will set up a center to provide career counseling for
> employees, according to J.D. English of the Jacksonville Regional Economic
> Development Corp. The office will be at the former APAC building on the
> northwest corner of Central Park Plaza in downtown Jacksonville.
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