Northeast Regional Plant Closure Watch: 45 Facilities Will Cease Operation in 2008

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A region's losing one manufacturing plant can be difficult; when a region stands to lose 45 facilities and almost 12,000 jobs, the results can be catastrophic. A review of activity from January through December 2008 in Industrial Info's North American Industrial Database reveals that the Northeast has 45 plants that have either already closed or are currently scheduled to close before the clock strikes midnight on December 31.

The marginally good news is that the current list of closing plants in 2008 is actually less than the Northeast lost in 2007. The region, which includes the states of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, closed the doors on 47 plants last year. As was the case in 2007, none of these states will escape unscathed, all sharing in the loss.

Delaware has earned the unwelcome distinction of losing the most jobs from plant closures. Although the state stands to lose only one plant all year, the loss is, unfortunately, a biggie. Chrysler is scheduled to close down its Newark assembly plant in December, where it employs 3,500. This is a vast departure from last year, when the state lost only one plant and 150 jobs.

In terms of job-loss rankings, Pennsylvania isn't far behind, with 3,135 employees off the table after 11 plants close their doors this year. Although the state lost 12 plants in 2007, the closures only accounted for the loss of 941 jobs.

For New Jersey, the 2008 stats reveal more of the same bad news as last year, with an expected loss of 15 plants and over 2,600 jobs this year. In 2007 the state lost 16 plants and 2,700 jobs. New York has 18 plants and 2,300 jobs to go on the chopping block before year's end.

Industrial Manufacturing is taking the biggest hit this year, shedding 10 plants and over 6,000 jobs. In addition to the aforementioned Chrysler plant, the sector is losing another 1,000 jobs when International Automotive Components Group NA LLC (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) closes its plant at the end of the year.

The Metals and Minerals Industry is taking a heavy loss in the region this year, as the industry closes six plants and loses over 2,000 jobs. The industry's largest loss of the year occurred when Lenox China shut the doors on its Pomona, New Jersey, plant, costing more than 1,000 jobs.

The Pharmaceutical-Biotech sector has marked nine plants for closure, with 1,700 jobs involved. Pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) (New York, New York) is on the list twice, as it targets production plants in Parsippany, New Jersey, and Brooklyn, New York, along with almost 900 jobs (reference: Industrial Info's Pharmaceutical Tracker).

Not all of the plants will close their doors. Some will be sold, and if the plants remain within the same industrial sector, many existing jobs will be retained. Others will be reopened after undergoing renovations to accommodate new owners and products, who in turn may replace some of the lost jobs. Despite the plant closings, there are still over 3,500 operational plants within the region, as found in the Northeast Region Online Plant Directory.

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