On Monday, word came of the inevitable. Pratt & Whitney announced that they would close two facilities in Cheshire and East Hartford over the next 18 months, resulting in a loss of 1,000 jobs.
First and foremost, our heart goes out to those families and workers that will be directly impacted by this move. Pratt & Whitney employs some of the brightest and hardest working residents from Connecticut, and there are few words that will comfort them in the days ahead. Thousands upon thousands have already lost a job in the state during this recession, and hearing that a thousand more will join the unemployment line is a shot to the gut. It truly is a sad time for everyone across Connecticut.
If there is a silver lining in this situation, it is that for the first time in a long time, we saw state leaders try and remedy the situation before a final decision was made by Pratt & Whitney. Both policymakers and union officials made a concerted effort to keep these jobs alive with some innovative and creative thinking. The state offered the company $100 million in incentives over a five-year period and the union reportedly offered its own concessions in the multi-millions. Moves like that are uncommon in Connecticut, and despite the decision to move forward with the cuts, we should applaud all those involved for working so hard to try and avoid this tragic situation.
Unfortunately, the move came at the last hour when it was likely too late. And this point, brings us back to the theme of what Jobs for New England Now has been trying to promote since our launch in April. For too long, Connecticut and other states in the region have done little to make the business environment in New England more compelling for job creation and job retention. We have seen too many businesses close their doors and head to other parts of the country, taking important and vital jobs for our residents with them.
NOW is the time when policymakers need to start implementing measures that reward businesses for creating jobs and make the region more attractive to businesses that are on the cutting edge of technology and innovation. We need our policymakers to promote a landscape where companies can be successful and maintain a strong base of employees to make our region richer and help revitalize the communities we live in.
As we said previously, this is an extremely sad day for the state, but we hope that in tragedy comes opportunity. From this day forward, our local policymakers need to realize that the status quo will no longer be acceptable. Both the business community and political community need to come together to find new ways to make this an attractive and affordable landscape where businesses and jobs can flourish for all Connecticut residents to enjoy. The skies above Connecticut have been grey for too long, and NOW is the time for policymakers to take note. NOW is not the time to talk about blame or greed. We must focus on the future and how innovation and investment will bring jobs back to our loyal and deserving workers.
