Sensata Technologies Lays Off 170

When it comes to the outsourcing of jobs there are a lot of different opinions out there. It is true that your thoughts on the matter are likely to be guided by one important factor; how likely you are to actually be out of a job because of the practice. The thing is, it is a thorny issue. Manager claim, rightly, that moving jobs to other nations is cheaper, and that results in a less expensive end product for consumers. Workers claim, also rightly, that the practice takes jobs out of the hands of Americans, making them much less likely to by any product no matter how cheap it may be. Someone with a soft touch might also point out that the new workers are not treated as well as their American counterparts were by their employer.

The bottom line is that, for the time being, the practice is probably not going anywhere.

Take, for example, the case of Sensata Technologies. They are getting ready to give 170 of their workers pink slips as part of a plan to move their jobs over seas and make more of a profit. No doubt that in this economy companies do need to do business smarter in order to stay alive, but one does have to wonder if the costs of closing an existing factory and relocating it to China is not much more expensive in the short term than staying out would have been?

For the time being however it looks like the company will not be closing the entire plant, which is in the city of Freeport, Ill. This is in line with the announcement that the company made last year, letting the workers of the area know that they were going to close the facility at the end of 2012, and while the notice period is ample, that still may not be enough for workers in the shrinking field of manufacturing to find comparable employment.

The jobs at the plant are being taken away gradually, as productions move to China, but eventually all 170 workers will be out of a job. For the time being some of the actual employees of the plant may stave off unemployment, for the time being, by bumping. Under this system employees of the plant may choose to put a contractor out of a job, and take that spot on a manufacturing line, essentially keeping their job by forcing another worker out of their position.

This move would, however, only be temporary, as the plant will be closed at the end of the year no matter how much bumping occurs.

A representative of the company said Linda Megathlin, told the following about the job losses and bumping to a reporter for the Journal Standard, “Employees have the opportunity to replace contractors that are working on another line, (and they) can extend their employment a little longer. We know this is a really difficult transition for employees. We’re trying to give them advance notice, and give them the opportunity to extend their employment for as long as possible on other lines.”