Hear that giant sucking sound?
West Michigan is the home of Wolverine / Hush Puppies. This is from our local newspaper about the closing of their tannery just north of Grand Rapids -
"Wolverine World Wide said the job cuts in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Dominican Republic would result in a pretax annual savings of $17 million to $19 million. The cuts represent about 10% of its workforce.
The Rockford-based footwear maker with annual sales of $1.2 billion said this marks the second phase of a restructuring of its business that began last year.
"Wolverine is a dynamic global company with a 125-year heritage, and we have the right brands, the right products and the right team to weather the current economic storm and emerge as a more powerful force in our industry," said Blake W. Krueger, chief executive and president, in a statement.
The Rockford tannery, which employs 90, sits on 15 acres in downtown Rockford. It is one of only a handful that still run in the United States.
The company said it would likely outsource the leather tanning work to Asia to be closer to footwear production. The tannery would likely close by the end of this year, Krueger said.....
Wolverine's other brands include Bates, Sebago, Wolverine, Caterpillar, Harley-Davidson and Patagonia. And the company said it acquired footwear brand Cushe, which launched in Britain in 2005, on Thursday. It did not disclose terms.
Wolverine and Cat (my brand) are being switched over to Asian leather. When will this bleeding of jobs overseas end?
