GM Plant in New York Braces for Closing
General Motors is shutting down another factory in a small town in northern New York. The area will lose nearly 500 jobs, dealing another blow to its battered rural economy.
STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
From North Country Public Radio, Brian Mann reports.
BRIAN MANN: Tuesday morning, Tony Arquette(ph), the local United Auto Worker chief in Massena, New York, came home exhausted after all-night sessions with his members.
TONY ARCUETTE: We've done informational meetings on all three shifts, concluded last evening with third shift.
MANN: Cindy Hurlba(ph), who owns a flower shop in Massena, says earlier downsizings have already taken a toll.
CINDY HURLBA: Driving down our main street now, there's already a lot of closed buildings. There's already a lot of businesses that have had to make the unfortunate choice to close. It's going to be bad.
MANN: Gary Edwards, the town supervisor, says attracting new industry will be tough, despite a ready supply of cheap electricity from the nearby hydro dam.
GARY EDWARDS: They've no four lane highway. We're up in the woods. It's always 57 degrees below zero when it snows up there, 13 and a half months out the year.
MANN: For NPR News, I'm Brian Mann.
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