We welcome you to JobBank USA and hope your job hunting experience
is a pleasant one. We hope you find our resources useful.
October 2, 2008
CLAYCOMO, MO. - The number of people seeking unemployment benefits last week reached a seven year high, with many of the job losses occurring in manufacturing as new orders for autos and airplanes continues to plummet along with consumer confidence.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally says he believes the current economic downturn will be deeper and longer lasting than many are expecting.
The auto maker posted it's weakest sales month of the year in September.
Here in the Kansas City metro, workers at Ford's Claycomo plant are hoping that a new model will help keep them on the job.
The Claycomo facility produces F-150 pickup trucks, a vehicle that has generated a lot of profits for Ford over the last ten years, and for many workers the success of the newly-redesigned F-150 will be a big factor in determining their future.
Soaring fuel prices have already shifted one line of workers at the plant that used to build F-150's to a line assembling small SUV's.
"If the economy kicks back up, if new homes and building construction picks up, maybe it'll pick-up some," said Jeff Wright, a Ford Claycomo worker. "I've heard people say the days of (the F-150) being an everyday vehicle are gone. We'll see, you know."
While workers at the Ford Claycomo plant hope that a new model can save their jobs, other workers are not so lucky.
"I go and apply but no one calls. No one calls," said Capitola Smith, who was laid off from her administrative assistant position with Jackson County after 26 years when tax revenues dried up. "You begin to wonder what's going on. So many people are out of work. So much competition. That's where you end up."
A government report on payrolls is expected to show that employers eliminated 100,000 jobs in September, and more job cuts are expected as troubled banks purchased by competitors are likely to result in layoffs as operations merge.
Email This Page!