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September 27, 2006
Auburn's Briggs & Stratton plant told 200 workers Tuesday their jobs will be gone as of Friday. Managers say the cuts will happen because of a lower demand for generators. Milder weather has left them on store shelves.
Local leaders say it's a tough break for the families, and this year's hurricane season is to blame.
"I do believe this is a temporary setback, a seasonal situation. You can't predict how the hurricanes are going to hit, and the demand for generators isn't what they thought it would be," said Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.
For the month of August, Lee County held Alabama's third-lowest unemployment rate at 2.9 percent. But since July, approximately 1,000 job cuts have been announced between BFGoodrich, WestPoint Home and now Briggs and Stratton.
"The lives of companies and jobs tend to be much like our own lives, very cyclical. You have the birth of one industry and the decline of another," said Wendi Routhier, president of the Opelika Chamber of Commerce.
However, unlike many areas in Alabama, Lee County can economically handle the recent job loss because new businesses are still coming in.
"We will have people back in jobs in the long term. I think our unemployment rate will continue, in the long term, to maintain a very low standard," Routhier said.
Hubbard said Tuesday's announcement is not a sign of things to come.
"I don't think you're seeing the start of a downturn in the economy. We're still one of the strongest economies in the entire state, and the state as a whole is very strong," he said.
While the job loss will have an impact in Lee County, many employees come from the surrounding counties to work. That means you may see a bigger spike in the unemployment rates of Tallapoosa, Chambers and Macon counties. However, as local leaders believe, it won't last for long.
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