I’m always on the alert for news about job opportunities for my Indiana bankruptcy clients. There’s a lot going on in our state…
On the negative front, 130 RV manufacturing jobs are leaving New Paris in northeastern Indiana, as Flexsteel closes its plant there. Meanwhile, Monaco Coach eliminated 1400 within the past few weeks, affecting Wakarusa, Elkhart, and Nappanee. One silver lining in all this is that all the RV-related layoffs qualified our state for a $10.4 million federal grant for worker retraining.
On the positive end, International Power Group plans to develop a $227 million waste-to-energy plan in LaFontaine, north of Marion, Indiana. That plant would burn waste materials to generate methanol and hydrogen for fuel. In North Manchester, Poet LLC, the U.S.’ largest ethanol maker, begins production this week.
In healthcare, Arcadia Resources, the health services company, will put its DailyMed pharmacy operations in Indianapolis and hire 130 workers over the next couple of years. Wellpoint’s Precision Rx Specialty Solutions expects to double its 450-employee work force, while Medco will open its automated pharmacy in 2009, hiring 1300 workers.
As a bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana for the past twenty-three years, I’ve seen many changes in our job markets. Never before, though, do I remember the changes being quite so dramatic and so condensed into such a short period of time. I’m keenly aware that, for workers laid off today, the space of time until all these wonderful new opportunities translate into new jobs for them may be much too long for them to stay financially afloat. That’s the reason I always advise seeking professional help at the very first signs of financial trouble (see Who’s To Blame – You, Me, Or We? The Only Thing That Matters Is Getting Help In Time ). It’s important to begin strategizing before the financial setbacks become overwhelming. The earlier in the process I can begin to work with clients, the greater the number of options from which they’ll be able to choose.