UPS, DOWNS and OUTS

Vermont Business Magazine, Jan 01, 2004 by Barna, Ed

- Eating Well, The Magazine of Food & Health in Charlotte, was scheduled to renew publication after three years.

June 2002:

-The sale of the Vermont Nuclear Power Corp (Vermont Yankee) to Mississippi-based Entergy Nuclear Corp for $180 million was approved by Vermont's Public Service Board.

- IBM laid off 988 workers in its Essex Junction plant, its second major round of layoffs in less than a year.

July 2002:

- State business leaders, looking back on the previous 18 months, were considering the loss of about 5,000 manufacturing jobs - the worst such record in 33 years. In addition to previously mentioned cuts at IBM, Blodgett, Ben & Jerry's, and Simon Pearce, major employers Mack Molding in Arlington and Goodrich in Vergennes had laid off significant portions of their workforces.

- IDX in South Burlington said it would add 60 jobs, after two years in decline that had included two rounds of job cuts.

- IBM added 200 manufacturing workers. - Goodrich in Vergennes cut 49 jobs.

August 2002:

- As part of its August bankruptcy, Ames Department Stores, Inc announced it would close all of its 327 stores around the country, including 12 in Vermont, with the loss of 744 local jobs.

- Wyeth Nutritionals, Inc, which was based in Georgia since 1984, announced that it had laid off 75 employees. The workweek would for the 300 remaining workers would be cut to five days instead of seven.

- Quebec-based Triosyn opened a 10,000-square-foot plant in Williston.

- Specialty Filaments of Andover, MA, sold its US business to Capital Resource Partners of Boston (CRP), which announced that the operations would retain the name Specialty Filaments was consolidating some operations in Middlebury, adding 20 to 25 Vermont jobs. Of the company's 400 jobs, 150 were in Burlington and 100 in Middlebury.

- The Vermont Economic Progress Council, whose resellable tax credits are intended to promote investment and jobs in Vermont, took note of the recent economic slump by rescinding $4,586,634 in authorizations made between 1999 and 2002, and available over a five-year period. Because projects were not going forward or because of noncompliance with state law or agreement provisions (often not filing reports,) the following cuts were made: American Flatbread, Inc, Waitsfield: $67,367; American Paper- Mills of Vermont, Inc, Gilman: $1,730,483 (plant closed;) Blodgett Corporation, Inc, Burlington; $1,069,093; Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics (CHEMFAB) Inc, Bennington: $239,021 (plant closed;) Knight industries, Inc, Rutland: $238,852 (company said it would not use the credits;) MacDermid, Inc, Springfield: $121,000; North East Precision, St. Johnsbury: $324,345 (company said it would not use credits;) Sheftex USA, St. Johnsbury: $275,336 (plant closed;) Vermont Fastener Sales Corp, St. Albans: $157,009; Vermont Fasteners Manufacturing, St. Albans: $364,128.

- The Lyndonville Savings Bank said it would cut nine jobs across branches in St. Johnsbury, Derby, Enosburg Falls, and two locations in Lyndonville.