Another One Bites the Dust… Wind Turbine Plant Obama Cheered in 2010 Lays Off Two-Thirds of Workforce
Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, September 20, 2012, 2:59 PM
Barack Obama visited the Siemens wind turbine blade plant in Fort Madison, Iowa in April 2010.
He praised the plant as a green energy success story and saying, “Investments in clean energy technologies can help return jobs to the country’s heartland.”
Maybe not.
It was another bust.
Siemens Energy Inc. announced today that it will lay off around two thirds of the workforce at its facility in Ft. Madison.
WGEM reported:
Siemens Energy Inc. says that it will lay off 407 workers at its facility in Ft. Madison, around two thirds of the workforce.
Siemens spokesperson Melanie Forbrick says around 220 workers will be retained in Ft. Madison. The layoffs will not take effect before Nov. 19.
Forbrick says the company took an evaluation of the functional categories of the wind turbine plant and many of the workers laid off will be based on a “last in, first out basis.”
The wind energy equipment manufacturer says it will lay off a total of 615 workers in Iowa, Kansas and Florida in part because Congress has not renewed a tax credit for wind energy. Fort Madison Partners Executive Director Tim Gobble says they will work to find new jobs for these employees…
…Siemens opened the Fort Madison facility in 2007 with 230 employees and grew to over 700 employees in September 2011, during a time the plant celebrated its 5,000th turbine blade being shipped.
The facility was a feature stop for President Barack Obama during his “White House to Main Street” tour in April 2010.
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Blacque Jacques Shellacque commented:
Siemens Energy Inc. announced today that it will lay off around two thirds of the workforce at its facility in Ft. Madison.
Go ahead, people, vote for him again. I dare you.
Stella Baskomb commented:
Memo to Barack and Joe:
GM is dying and bin Laden is coming back to life.
When you’re not doing your job, we gotta let you go.
snap boy commented:
So this German company needs US taxpayer subsidies (unlike the oil companies) to make a profit…
Indiana commented:
Every morning I read the news…..and Obama is proven wrong on yet another idea. What an incredible wast of money he’s been. Trillions of our dollars….puff, up in smoke.
Nelle commented:
If I saw him coming to put a spotlight on my business, I have to say he’d find it closed and dark. I’m not superstitious, I’m just sayin….
UpChuck.Liberals commented:
Barry makes the Grim Reaper look like a nice guy. He exudes death and failure.
donh commented:
What else is there to say ….but….There’s NO business like BLOW business….Cue the Ethel Mermon ……and ….LETS GO… ON WITH THE SHOW…….> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA_Ic4aQssc&feature=share&list=PL4F2C4BFDCA08E1C8
Seymour del-Uziens commented:
Put some green cash in my hand and you’re talking real energy.
Adi commented:
Those gold-plated columns look like some champagne bottles I recently saw. Can’t remember, though, and I’m sure there is no pattern.
BarbaraS commented:
All that stimulus money going to these green plants was an elaborate money laundering scheme. We have nothing to show for that almost trillion dollars. Most of these companies have or are going bankrupt. This was all planned. Obama used the “green” hoax just like he wanted to use the global warming hoax. Get more money from us for his cronies and pet projects. He has inflamed the ME so they probably won’t be able to sell us oil. Iran is making noises about war and if they get nukes we are finished. He has fixed it so Canada is selling their oil to China not us. He and the dims won’t let us drill for our own oil. That leaves us to buy oil from Venezuala and Russia. Good luck with that. All they will have to do to immobilize us is to cut us off from our remaining distributers. We need to get a republican president, house and senate so we can drill the oil here in this country and thumb our noses at the ME and the rest of our enemies.
dwdude commented:
siemens, another local German company
Look-Out commented:
This is considered a success when your goal is to destroy America.
US Navy Corpseman commented:
Solyndra, Siemens, GM, – Obungle’s endorsement is the kiss of death. Maybe he’ll try to campaign for Romney next.
P. Aaron commented:
Was just through Iowa on I-80? Lots of windmills on towards the west side of the state. Hmmm.
kato commented:
Subprime is going to blame the Republicans for not reauthorizing the tax credit. Siemens is not the only turbine maker laying off people. The WSJ reported that several of them have curtailed operations. Without the handout from the taxpayers, the wind industry cannot stand on its own.
But the WSJ article also noted that several Midwestern GOP members of Congress support the tax credit. The Clueless Party likes crony capitalism and special-interest politics as much as the Democrats.
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