Sometimes making a healthy profit just isn't enough.
Ask the employees of the Pennsylvania House furniture factory in Lewisburg, PA. They received an early Christmas present from plant owner La-Z-Boy when the company announced it would shut down the Lewisburg plant and put its 425 employees out of work.
La-Z-Boy officials are shipping the work, which had been done by the U. S. workers to China to improve the company's profit margin. This time, it was a little more difficult than usual to sell out American workers. The governor of Pennsylvania became involved and tried to broker a deal for employees to buy the plant. On Nov. 16, La-Z-Boy rejected a $37 million buyout package without even submitting it to its board of directors.
Robert Joel Zechman Jr, a worker at the plant for 29 years, told PennLive.com "They led us all down the path and then they pulled the plug. I don't think they wanted to sell. They didn't want the competition."
That was the least of the charges leveled against La-Z-Boy officials. They claimed the plant was losing money, but workers say that was not the case. The workers say La-Z-Boy made sure the plant was bathed in red ink by buying a large number of unnecessary purchases during the past few months.
One example: one day before the plant was closed, according to the PennLive.com report, a new truck and snowplow were ordered. Other large-ticket purchases were also made, the workers claimed.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said at news conference, "Somewhere we have to draw the line and say we can't lose everything to China."
The closing of the Pennysylvania House plant was made at the same time as closings of three other plants. La-Z-Boy officials said the manufacturing would be shipped to China.
So far, La-Z-Boy's plans have not affected the Neosho plant, which employs nearly 1,500 workers, but only because China still does not do as well with upholstery orders. That will likely change since Chinese officials are already working at improving in that area. La-Z-Boy officials have already indicated that when China is ready to handle production, they will waste no time in shipping it there.
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Condolences to the family of former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Cloyd Boyer of Alba, whose son, Mike, was killed in a hunting accident in Barton County over the weekend. Mike Boyer was also the nephew of former major leaguers Ken and Clete Boyer.