I posed the question;
At a forum last week for candidates running for mayor, they were asked about the volatile meatpacking industry and whether the John Morrell plant would remain.
This was a question I email submitted to the mayoral forum at the University Center, and candidates Staggers and Huether expanded on it. It is an important issue to our city and I am glad our city is starting a discussion about it. Not sure what I think anymore after reading the article. One side of me doesn’t trust the meatpacking industry that has no problem with making changes overnight, but another part of me says they make some good points about not closing the packing plant. I guess time will only tell.
Not enuff pigs! Must…vertically…integrate!
From what I’ve seen, Sioux City is favored considering number of employees versus output. Also, Smithfield has land there for expansion. It’s only a matter of time before they close here. The impact will be devastating.
Like I have said before, I am on the fence over the closure of JM’s. On one hand a closure would finally clean up downtown once and for all, but on the other hand the economic impact of that many leaving SF (because they would) would be devastating.
If they’d have closed 30 years ago, the town would be screwed. Those jobs paid well enough to support a family, and it was about the only game in town.
Now, it would mean a loss of a lot of $8-$10/hr jobs that would be replaced the next time a call center opens up, along with a relative few higher paying jobs (supervisors, inspectors, etc.).
As long as the decision is based on Economics, the SF plant should be okay. It has historically had a high productivity rate and is more diversified than SC.
Although SC is playing a much better game of “pick me, pick me!” than SF is, very smart for them to have a new site on the table. They seem to have it figured out that if you sell your City the right way and think long term, sometimes good things happen as a result.
I just wonder if Smithfield (JM) plays this little game of keeping quiet in the hopes Sioux Falls and Sioux City will attempt to out-promise one another in regard to tax incentives, land grants, or whatever else might help them.
Seems like Sioux Falls is keeping quiet for the most part. I heard a rumor that those who sit inside City Hall would actually like to see JM close the doors, but they can’t admit that in public as it is political suicide.
The fact is, if they did leave, most of that workforce would leave with them, because those aren’t the people who are considered an educated workforce and as such they can’t transition into a job at a call center or other white collar positions. As a result, Sioux Falls would suffer a significant hit for a few years, but I think it would balance out in 24-36 months and soon enough nobody would really miss them.
I guess my view is JM isn’t nearly as vital to this city as many might think.
“I guess my view is JM isn’t nearly as vital to this city as many might think.”
You are right, but it would close down a certain neighborhoods in this city.
Don’t kid yourself fellas, just the annual payroll itself going bye bye will hit us squarely in the gonads. $150 million or so is a huge amount, roughly 5% of our total annual local economic activity.
I agree Sy, JM’s is important to the economy.
They will keep the Sioux City plant open because Sioux City built an events center.
LMAO!