Green Jobs My Ass
Today’s post pretty much wrote itself, because simply presenting a chronological sequence of news items makes it clear why the US economy is going nowhere fast, and how the politicos, their appointees, and corporate officials are about as trustworthy as Kim Jong Il when he’s three sheets to the wind.
There’s a company called Energy Conversion Devices, based in Michigan, that I learned about in 2005 when I was buying a hybrid car and wanted to know which companies made batteries for them. Back then ECD did. But their main client for the batteries was GM (the Saturn brand in particular), and the batteries were not exactly EverReady Bunny reliable, so ECD doesn’t do batteries anymore.
They do solar panels now. And were, a little over a year ago, singled out by the Obama administration and Democratic office holders in general as an example of the viability of the green jobs that would be produced by the green economy that was right around the corner.
Well, let’s follow the dancing delusion. The punchline is killer.
From PRNewswire, July 24, 2009:
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke today visited the Auburn Hills manufacturing facility of United Solar Ovonic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (“ECD”), a manufacturer of proprietary, thin-film amorphous silicon-based photovoltaic laminates, branded under the UNI-SOLAR name (that’s solar panels to you and me).
Secretary Locke, as well as representatives of Governor Jennifer Granholm, Congressman Gary Peters, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation were given a brief tour of the facility to show how UNI-SOLAR laminates are produced. Following the tour, Secretary Locke hosted a town-hall meeting for approximately 50 employees of United Solar and ECD to discuss the role of Department of Commerce in nurturing innovation, expanding the global market for U.S. manufacturers, and the important role solar energy plays in creating a cleaner environment and mitigating global warming.
Mark Morelli, ECD’s president and CEO, said, “We were pleased to have an opportunity to show Secretary Locke our state-of-the-art solar manufacturing facility. Our flexible, lightweight solar laminates can play an important role in advancing the Obama administration’s alternative energy program. We look forward to working with Secretary Locke, particularly in expanding emerging markets for our technologically-advanced solar products.”
During the town-hall meeting, Secretary Locke remarked, “The Obama administration is committed to revitalizing American manufacturing – and a big part of how we do that is building solar panels, wind turbines and advanced batteries right here in the Midwest. The Commerce Department will directly assist the small- and medium-size businesses across America who are at the vanguard of America’s renewable energy future.”
Next, we go to Yahoo finance on 5/21/10. Don’t forget the secretary’s commitment to building green “right here in the Midwest”:
United Solar Ovonic today announced that the company is honored to host the United States Secretary of Commerce, the Honorable Gary Locke, at the company’s Joint Venture facility in Tianjin, China…..
The JV entity, United Solar Ovonic Jinneng Ltd., operates a state-of-the-art solar manufacturing facility in the Hua Yuan Hi Tech Industrial Park in Tianjin.
“We are honored that Secretary Locke will visit our facility as part of the Obama Administration’s first cabinet level trade mission,” said Mark Morelli CEO of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENER – News), United Solar’s parent company. “Support from Secretary Locke and the Department of Commerce has been instrumental in introducing our products and technology in China.”
OK, so now ECD, with the blessing of the secretary, is partnering with the Chinese. Nothing unusual there, but unlike the Japanese and Korean auto companies who build most of their cars in the U.S., we’re partnering where it’s expedient for the Chinese to partner, which ain’t here.
And now the topper. This from Marketwatch a couple of days ago. You can’t make this stuff up:
Energy Conversion Devices Inc., which makes roof-top solar power products, said Wednesday it’s cutting 140 jobs in its home state of Michigan, while hiring workers in Tijuana, Mexico.
Energy Conversion said that later this year it will shift some of its final assembly operations from its Auburn Hills, Mich., campus to its facility in Tijuana.
The move will include 140 job cuts in Auburn Hills…. “We are aggressively reducing our cost structure to operate more effectively in the highly-competitive, global solar market, and, through these actions, we will better utilize our existing capacity in Tijuana, without any additional capital costs,” Chief Executive Mark Morelli said in a statement.
Uni-Solar, a unit of Energy Conversion Devices, was featured in a television advertisement about the benefits of doing business in Michigan, narrated by actor Jeff Daniels.
So the administration, after making a self-righteous fuss about the future of green jobs in America, acquiesces to the outsourcing of work to China, and the company itself outsources work to Mexico.
If a government and corporate commitment can go to hell like this in less than 15 months, we can kiss our economic asses goodbye.
Goodbye.
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There is more to this story. You did not notice these massive layoffs by ECD around Christmas last year:
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/central_mich/About-90-jobs-cut-at-Uni-Solar-on-Tuesday
Watch the video. “The man showed 24 Hour News 8 a copy of his severance package, which includes three weeks salary. Insurance benefits end Dec. 5 and he received a $10 Meijer gift card, which he took as an insult.”
Here are more details about the eventual 400 “planned” job cuts, predominantly in Michigan:
http://www.mlive.com/michigan-job-search/index.ssf/2009/12/400_layoffs_at_energy_conversion_devices.html
And here is what the Governor had to say about dignity (look at the end of the video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hHF8A0oBv4&playnext=1&videos=zPvwDiG-jUc
For her passioned words (and support), she received a gift from ECD – a free PV system at her residence (worth over $10,000):
http://www.certainteed.com/pressroom/pressRelease.aspx?id=287
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!! Going against all the laws of the Metaphor, all the way back to the kindergarten one where the big fish eats the little fish, then the bigger fish eats that one, etc. We – the big corporate fish – were eaten by the little one (China) who in turn was eaten by the littler one (Mexico). HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Now take that and put the real killer irony that Michigan is the original playing field!!!! MICHIGAN, where cities fall and entire communities fold up like Chinese fans. LK ,you are correct… you can’t make this shit up.
At least we still have football! And we even export it to some extent.
Still, I long for the “Made in America” of old.
Excellent post!