F-22 Vote Delayed In DC

The fate of funding for the F-22 fighter jet has been delayed. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee says a key vote on the defense spending issue was expected today. Now, Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan says he will pull the amendment temporarily so the Senate can focus on other bills.

The Lockheed-Martin built F-22 has been under hot debate in the Senate. Levin and Arizona Senator John McCain filed the amendment that would eliminate from the defense spending bill an additional $1.75 billion earmarked for another seven planes. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto extra spending for the F-22.

But Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has lobbied heavily to keep the money in-place, given Lockheed’s main production plant is in Marietta. Thousands of jobs nationwide are connected to production of the F-22.

NCR To Relocate, Bring 2-K Jobs To Georgia

Official word has come this morning that a Fortune 500 company is moving to Georgia, bringing with it more than 2,000 jobs. The automated equipment firm NCR will move its corporate headquarters from Ohio to metro Atlanta’s Duluth. In addition, the company will also build a manufacturing plant in Columbus. The move will spur 1,250 jobs to the metro Atlanta area, and bring 870 fresh jobs to west Georgia. NCR has strong ties to Georgia already, with hundreds of workers in the metro Atlanta region currently, and another 900 jobs to be created with a facility in Peachtree City. NCR makes cash registers and bank ATM’s among various produced equipment.

Snack Co. Adding Jobs at Columbus Plant

Snack maker Lance Incorporated is adding 70 more jobs to its payroll. Lance will have a new cracker line and will make more candy bars at its west Georgia plant. The $10.5 million expansion will require more machine operators and supervisors. Its completion is expected by late Fall. Lance already employs 525 people in Columbus.

(Associated Press)

600 Jobs Headed To Cobb County

Communications and IT provider Cbeyond will create 600 jobs and build a new call center and training facility in Cobb County.

With the expansion, Cbeyond will grow its Georgia employment from approximately 700 workers to more than 1,300 by 2012. Job opportunities will range from sales, customer care, Information Technology (IT), operations and marketing – virtually all areas of the organization, as the company expands and builds its business over the next three to four years.

Cbeyond began in Atlanta in 2000 with 15 employees. Cbeyond now has more than 700 employees in Atlanta and more than 1,600 across the country.

Lockheed Pulls Back On Push To Save F-22

Lockheed says it will no longer fight to try and preserve production of the F-22 fighter jet. Recent budget-plans by the Defense Department to scale-back the program could affect thousands of jobs across the nation, including about 2,000 at Lockheed’s Marietta plant. However, Lockeed’s chief financial officer says other projects involving large cargo-plane production could preserve many of the jobs now tied to the F-22.

Georgia Jobs Cut with F-22 Raptor Jet

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Pentagon will end the F-22 fighter jet and presidential helicopter programs run by Lockheed Martin Corp. 2,000 workers in Cobb County currently assemble parts of the jets. The Pentagon has contracted to buy 183 F-22 from Lockheed Martin. More than 140 have been built. Current orders would keep the Marietta assembly line open until late 2011.

(Associated Press)

Perdue: FY 09 Budget Focuses on 'Core Services'

Governor Sonny Perdue's signing of an $18.9 billion budget that includes property tax break funding already promised to Georgia homeowners, slashes about two billion dollars in state spending to close a huge budget hole.

"This is a budget that focuses on the core services of government," Governor Perdue said in a statement released from the Governor's Office Friday.

"We have made effective use of federal stimulus dollars and the state’s rainy day fund, which we worked so hard to build up, to lessen the impact of this economic downturn and plan for next year’s budget. Through sound management by our agency leaders and wise decisions by lawmakers, Georgia will endure a challenging economy and emerge ready to prosper."

The budget contains $625 million in federal stimulus dollars for Medicaid and education. That federal cash helped the state fund some $428 million in homeowner tax relief grants, which translates into about $200 to $300 per household. That money was already included in property tax bills. But the relief could disappear next year because a new law will link future grants to the state's economy.

The budget covers the fiscal year that ends June 30th.

Click here for more details on the budget: www.legis.ga.gov

(AP)

Massive Attendance at Atlanta Job Fair

Tens of thousands of job-seekers flooded a career expo and job fair held at The World Congress Center in Atlanta, Wednesday evening, Mar. 11, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Lines of job applicants dressed for success snaked across an entire floor of the exhibition center.

Applicants from across the southeast interviewed with representatives from over a hundred private and public employers, temp agencies, schools, training colleges and service organizations.


Dozens of banks of computers with internet access allowed applicants to upload resumes, and connect with potential employers at the career expo and job fair held at The World Congress Center in Atlanta, Wednesday evening, Mar. 11, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Georgia Department of Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says he’s encouraged by the conservatively-estimated 20,000-person turnout.

He says applicants’ willingness to accept work in new fields is key in finding a job in what he characterized as the roughest employment market since the Great Depression:

"The individuals who will be most successful in this economic downturn, in terms of finding jobs, will be the ones who are most adaptable to change, who are most flexible, who will look at the landscape and say, 'Look – this may be a temporary opportunity that will help me pay my bills, and better position myself for the opportunities that are in the near future.''

Job-seekers packed a dozen workshops in polishing jobs- seeking skills, starting a business, managing personal finances and health care, and coping with extended unemployment.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the unemployment situation statwewide.

Top Atlanta Law Firm Slashes Staff

King & Spalding, one of Atlantas oldest and largest law firms, has laid off 37 attorneys and 85 staff.

Chairman Robert D. Hays said Friday that the continuing decline in the U.S. and global economies made the move necessary.

Hays said a severance package was being offered to the laid-off workers.

King & Spalding spokesman Les Zuke, based in New York, would not say how many of the firms cuts were from the Atlanta office. King & Spalding has 13 offices. King & Spalding was founded in Atlanta in 1885.

Its clients include Georgia blue chip companies, from Coca-Cola and Home Depot to SunTrust, as well as General Motors and Ernst & Young.

(AP)

Kia Supplier Applicants Hoping Skill Counts More Than Luck

Sign with the slogan: "If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It," guiding applicants to parking slots at Sewon's job fair at West Georgia Technical College at Lagrange, Ga., Feb. 9, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Thousands of job applicants are hoping for a shot at a spot with a major supplier for Kia's car plant under construction in western Georgia.

Hundreds of hopeful job applicants waiting their turn to fill in applications at West Georgia Technical College at Lagrange, for positions with Sewon on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

John Wade Riddle of Lagrange has been unemployed for several months. He worked for 25-years in a carpet mill, and hopes to make the switch to the auto industry:

”I’m hoping. I mean, they’re hiring 700 people, and we had about 6-700 this morning, from the looks of it, you know. But I’m hoping, with my background and everything, hoping they’re looking for someone with a little experience.”

Riddle just applied with Sewon America which needs people to build body parts for Kia’s assembly line in nearby West Point.

A Georgia Department of Labor team member guides job applicants waiting on line at West Georgia Technical College at Lagrange, to rooms where they'll apply for positions with Sewon on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Overall, officials expect some 4,000 people to apply during the three day job fair at West Georgia Technical College.

Some started lining up at midnight from as far away as Louisiana, Alabama and other parts of Georgia.

A translator (not visible here) assisted Spanish-speaking applicants in filling out forms at a table outside the application center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

John Johnson drove down early this morning from Douglasville, west of Atlanta.

But he’s a bit discouraged by the sheer number of people in line ahead of and behind him who all have the same idea:

"…not with nine million people [who are] going to be here! Brother – you got a lot of people out of work – point blank."

With five mouths to feed, Johnson is betting his 20-years experience in auto paint and bodywork increase his chances.

He’s not thrilled about the ten dollar an hour starting salary, listed on a company flyer (see image below).


Sewon job application form. Click on image for close-up. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Johnson says his experience should count for something, and make his hour-long commute worthwhile. Looking over the starting salary chart, he says:

"...hopefully more pay than what they're talking about on this paper, ‘cause experience is what counts – well, what used to count. Nowadays, experience don’t mean nothin’."

Job seekers fill in application forms in a classroom at West Georgia Technical College at Lagrange, for positions with Sewon on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

As applicants hand over their forms, they pass by a Sewon promotional film showing happy Korean Sewon employees.

"Sewon’s bold challenges are just the beginning…" an announcer says.

Those at the fair will find out in the next few weeks, if they’ll join their ranks.

Labor department spokesman Sam Hall says the department processed more than 300 applications by midmorning today. Hundreds are still waiting to turn theirs in.

All applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent and manufacturing experience is preferred. The Quick Start office in LaGrange is accepting applications from 8 AM to 9 PM through Wednesday.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Kia facility, and its suppliers.

KIA, Suppliers Promise Fall Rollout, Despite Sluggish Economy

Kia Motors’ HR chief Randy Jackson says the Korea-based automaker is still on track to open their 2-million sq.-ft. West Point facility in late ’09.

“We’re still hanging our hat on that launch date late this year,” Jackson told GlobalAtlanta.

The company is working closely with Georgia’s Quick Start to train and qualify some 2,500 production line workers to build SUV’s at the $1.2 billion facility, as well as more than 6,000 employees for a number of tier-one suppliers.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Kia car plant.

Columbus Job Fair: Officials Optimistic, Despite Cuts

Applicants looking for work throng the hall of the Columbus Trade and Convention Center, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 1009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

More than 2,500 job-seekers attended a job fair held in Columbus Thursday. Employers from the area, as well as out-of-state and national firms were at the event, held at the city’s convention center.

Department of Labor officials say some 55 companies, from Aflac and local hospitals, to local and Atlanta MARTA police departments, to Georgia Power and employment agencies are taking job applications.


Miguel Flores (facing) of Fort Benning assists a job-seeker at the Columbus job fair, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Fort Benning's Warrior Transition Battalion has a representative here as well, to aid troops in making the sometimes complex conversion from uniform to civvies.

There are also representatives from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in nearby Lumpkin, and the Florida Highway Patrol.

The large-scale fair is held several times a year, and Labor Department officials say while the turnout by employers is a little more than half last year's showing – they’re optimistic that employers and applicants will be introduced to each other.


Applicants submitting resumes to company online websites. (Photo: Dave Bender)

To that end, they’ve set up a bank of computers for applicants to go directly to the companies’ websites, and set up interviews there, as well.

Many of the job-seekers are either in, or soon after college, and some have recently completed military service.

Celeste Edge of Columbus is looking has a degree in Communications and wants a position in her field:

"It’s been ok; I’ve talked to a couple of people who seem a little promising, like the hospital and one of the staffing agencies who thinks they might be able to place me – but, you know – I’m just hoping for the best."

There were many resumes and handshakes, and many people filled in applications online.

Jim Huntzinger of the DOL is one of the fair’s organizers, and says they’re trying hard to lower jobless rates:

"We have 55 employers here, with, as i say, with the economic situation, is, I think, fantastic. And it’s 55 employers that have jobs."

Some came away frustrated from the experience, though.

Eric Harris of Columbus recently finished the Army and is studying criminal law at Troy University; he got a lot of what he calls “headnoes”:

"...that’s everybody shaking their heads, saying, ‘No; go online; we don’t have any applications, we’re not hiring…so it’s like, I’m very discouraged at this point so I’m just thinking about dropping school and going back in the military – and I’m, not the only one feeling like this. There’s a lot of others in there stressing the same thing about their feeling the same disappointment at this job fair – they need to do better."

About 3,000 people turned out for last year's job fair, and Department of Labor officials say they’ll hold a similar job fair in May.

Kia Motors' tier-one supplier, Sewon American, will accept applications for 400 to 600 production workers for a car parts factory that will open in a few months.

They'll be taking applications next week in Lagrange.

The Kia plant in West Point is about half an hour north of Columbus, and is set to open its doors in the late fall.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the job situation.

Kia Supplier, Quick Start Ink Jobs Deal

A major Kia Motors supplier has signed a deal with Georgia’s Quick Start training program to prepare hundreds of production workers.

Korea's Sewon, state and local officials attended the agreement ceremony which will train upwards of 600 workers for their Lagrange plant.

Sean McMillan, director of Quick Start's western operations says the signing is a positive step in a gloomy jobs market:

"In the times that we're living in now, with the economy being front and center, and a lot of negativity that's being heard by the public, [it's] a great, great ray of hope for many people in this community to have an opportunity to go back to work."

The firm plans to open the 420,000 square-foot factory in April. The plant will make chassis and body parts for the Kia car plant, in nearby West Point.

Trainees will learn the necessary production line skills at West Georgia Technical College.

The Kia plant is slated to begin production this fall.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the Kia operation.

Cessna to Cut Jobs in Columbus

Cessna Skyhawk (Illustration)

Cessna Aircraft says they plan to lay off about 100 workers at their plant in Columbus. There are 650 employees at the west Georgia facility, which make sheet metal parts for their light aircraft.

The job cuts are part of the Kansas-based firm’s effort to trim their workforce by 2,000 – or about 13 percent.

Cessna officials say the worldwide economic downturn is forcing customers to cancel or delay orders for new aircraft.

Cessna employs about 15,000 people worldwide.

The company also plans to order employee furloughs, beginning in March, although details haven't been released.

Workers being laid off will receive 60-day notices within the next few weeks, Cessna spokesman Robert Stangarone said in a telephone interview, adding that the cuts will be spread "across all areas and all salary levels."

Click here for more GPB News coverage about business in Columbus.

Officials: Plains State Visitor To Remain Open

In Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio’s occasional “MoneyCrunch” series, which airs on Georgia Gazette news magazine weekday evenings at 6 P.M., we explore the effects of proposed budget cuts on communities and constituents around the state.


Duck pond in front of the Georgia Visitor Information Center at Plains. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Last week, an obscure state law saved a state welcome center in Plains from the chopping block, to help cover a $2.2 billion shortfall in the 2010 budget.


Entrance to visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

But, on Monday, officials at the Georgia Department of Economic Development said The Georgia Visitor Information Center will remain open, despite a pending recommendation to slash its $186,000 budget.


Democratic State Sen. George Hooks at the Capitol. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Americus state Senator, George Hooks cites a 1977 statute that says Georgia, by law, must have a visitor center in any town whose resident becomes a president:

“'...and it shall be,' - not 'may be,' but 'shall be,' - maintained and supplied with materials," Hooks told legislators.

Those materials feature the state’s charms in hundreds of glossy tourism magazines, colorful photos and souvenirs.

A visitor’s center at Sylvania was also facing closure. The two centers are among eleven similar facilities around the state.

The GDEcD’s Alison Tyrer, however, says her office would like to keep both the Sylvania and Plains centers open:

”We are looking at all possible options for both centers. However, it’s very early in the legislative process so we would prefer not to speculate on what those options might be at this time,” Tyrer said in a written comment on the issue.

The Plains center is a replica of a rustic wooden farmhouse, surrounded by fields and piney woods. A pastoral two-lane road out front links the town to nearby Americus. The road, and the parking lot of the 31-year-old building are both empty on this Monday afternoon.


Map, pins and and "Post-its" left by guests who have visited the site. Penny Smith, who manages the facility, is behind the desk. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Manager Penny Smith sits inside and waits for tourists:

“…you don’t get bored, because it’s God’s nature… and that’s why the visitors love it so much, because you’re in another world, and when you’re here you don’t think about the outside; what’s going on outside this area - it’s just peace and harmony and such a wonderful feeling…”

She's worked here for eight years, and says the visitor center is her whole world. Smith shared her patch of Georgia with 56,000 folks who stopped by last year:

"Our visitors are 'destination visitors;' they're not just stopping to go to the restroom or get a roadmap. They're here to spend time and money and see what there is to see in the state."

Sign of town's pride. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The biggest local attraction is former President Jimmy Carter, who lives in Plains with former First Lady Rosalynn.

While a National Park Service visitors center closer to Carter’s home focuses on the 39th president, Smith says her facility offers a lot more:

"When we have the visitors captured here, we use that time to tell them about other places in Americus, down the road; make motel, hotel reservations – just service the visitor overall. They don’t do that at the park service.”

Their money's part of more than thirty-four billion tourism dollars that Georgia raked in last year. Those dollars paid for almost 250,000 jobs – among them, Smith’s and two assistants.

Plains peanut processing facility and road sign on the way to the visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Plains Mayor Boze Godwin says the 700 residents of his struggling rural town – and the vicinity - need every tourist dollar that comes through the center:

“I think it’s important not only for Plains, but for the whole county because they do refer people to businesses here. In the past we had a tog shop here, and that closed – but they would send people to that to buy clothes – so they helped the whole area, not just Plains … and they do a great job.”

Hooks, Godwin and Smith hope that statute will be enough to keep the visitor center open to greet the next busload of tourists.

Click here for more GPB news coverage of the state budget.

Home Depot Cuts More Jobs

Home Depot announced it will cut another 7,000 jobs from its national workforce. The move by the world’s largest home improvement retailer is part of a restructuring that closes its remaining specialty design stores.

Home Depot is closing its 34 EXPO Design Center stores saying they were not strong performers even during the housing boom. And company officials did not expect the stores to do better financially anytime soon given the current economic downturn. Another handful of yard or bath remodeling outlets run by Home Depot will also close.

The retailer says 5,000 of the job losses will come from the specialty-store closings. Another 2,000 jobs will be cut from "store support" in the company, including a scale-back at its Atlanta-headquarters of 500 positions.

Home Depot has been trimming staff since last January, including previous cuts at headquarters.

The retailer has nearly 2,000 flagship stores in the U.S., employing more than 300,000 workers.

Kia Plant an Example of Jobs, Job Losses

Kia Motors assembly plant and new access road, along I-85 between West Point and LaGrange, Ga., December, 2008. (Dave Bender/file)

As state unemployment rates soar to the highest in a quarter-century, west Georgia is seeing both business development -- and recession over the new Kia auto plant under construction at West Point.

KIA and state officials unveil Now Hiring! sign at ceremony at West Georgia Technical College, Jan. 8, 2008. (Dave Bender/file)

The Latest Georgia Department of Labor statistics say almost 400,000 Georgians are looking for work.

Jobless numbers for December doubled to over eight percent since the same period the previous year.

In Columbus, a prospective Kia supplier is canceling a planned facility after changing owners. That plant would have brought 350 jobs to the city to make car parts.

Despite the gloomy figures, Mike Gaymon of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce says west Georgia will weather the recession better than much of Georgia:

"Within the next couple of quarters, you'll see the economy in our region start to come out quicker than the state; which will probably be followed sometime later on in 0-10. So, based upon all the primary jobs that will be coming into play, over the next several months, and within the next six months to a year, our economy we think is poised to be a bright spot in our state and in our region."

One signpost of that recovery is the announcement by another Kia supplier, who plans to open a seat-belt plant in West Point, that will employ 50 people.

Kia officials say the assembly line is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of '09.
Signs of the times in west Georgia. (Dave Bender)


Click here for more GPB News coverage about Georgia's economy.

Greens Laud Power Co. Pullout From Coal Power Station

Houston-based Dynegy Corporation is dropping its support for a controversial coal-fired power plant in Southwest Georgia.

Dynegy officials say they're pulling out of the Longleaf power station project near Blakeley because of the poor economy and the possibility of tighter federal regulations.

Environmental groups are thrilled. The project ground to a halt last year amid a flurry of lawsuits over pollution controls.

Jennette Gayer of Environment Georgia says the project doesn't stand a chance now that one of its two backers has pulled out:

"It's very exciting that Dynegy cancelled their plans to build a large coal plant in early county. It's clear that Georgia has the technology, know how to provide energy without a polluting coal plant, so it's very nice to see an energy company reacting to that reality."

Officials for the company that owns the project remain optimistic, however.

New Jersey-based LS Power hopes an appeal of the court ruling this month will get the project restarted by this summer.

Click here for ongoing GPB News coverage of this story.

Firm Says Proposed Power Plant Still On Track

The Houston-based Dynegy Corporation said on Friday it was walking away from the joint venture with New York's LS Power to construct a coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia.

Dynegy says they took the decision due to tight credit markets and economic uncertainty.

However, LS Power, who’ll own 100-percent of the proposed $2 billion facility, say they're going ahead with the project, set along the Chattahoochee River.

Project Manager Mike Vogt:

"We're going to push forward with the development of this plant, and ultimately customers -- hopefully in Georgia -- will decide that it does have a place and will decide that it does have a place."

Vogt says his company is also appealing a court decision from late last year that halted the project over air pollution concerns:

"The briefings will be finished in January 2009, and the court of appeals will make their decision sometime before June of 2009."

Environmentalists say the facilities' smokestacks will emit unchecked amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur, and coal dust.

Supporters of the project say it’ll bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax-revenue to Early County – one of the state's poorest.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the proposed Longleaf Power plant.

Coal-Fired Power Plant Co-investor Ends Joint Venture

Power producer Dynegy Inc. on Friday said it plans to dissolve a development joint venture with LS Power Associates LP, due to constrained credit markets and economic uncertainty.

Dynegy will record an undisclosed loss in 2009 related to the transaction while LS Power will receive about $19 million in cash during the first quarter to reflect the relative value of assets exchanged.

The two companies agreed to the dissolution and that Dynegy will acquire exclusive rights, ownership and developmental control of all repowering or expansion opportunities related to its existing portfolio of operation assets.

LS Power will acquire full ownership and developmental rights associated with various "greenfield" projects under consideration in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Nevada, as well as other power generation and transmission development projects not related to Dynegy's existing operating portfolio of assets.

"Today, the development of new generation is increasingly marked by barriers to entry including external credit and regulatory factors that make development much more uncertain," said Bruce Williamson, Dynegy's chief executive.

"In light of these market circumstances, Dynegy has elected to focus development activities and investments around our own portfolio where we control the option to develop and can manage the costs being incurred more closely."

Click here for previous GPB News coverage of this developing story.

(AP)