Del Monte to shut down 2 years ahead of schedule
Del Monte Fresh Produce said today it will cease operations immediately and lay off 551 people on or around Jan. 22.
In February Del Monte had said it was planting its last pineapple crop that month at the Kunia plantation and would cease its more than century-old Hawai'i operation at the end of 2008.
In a letter to the state labor department today, Del Monte did not say why it was moving the timetable up by nearly two years.
Del Monte's departure will leave Dole Food Co. as the only major pineapple grower on O'ahu. Dole employs about 250 unionized workers.
Maui Land & Pineapple subsidiary Maui Pineapple Co. remains the state's largest pineapple producer, with operations on more than 6,000 acres on Maui.
In 2004, Hawai'i's pineapple industry employed 1,200 workers, according to state figures.
Seen at http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Nov/17/br/br2064539781.html
IMHO affordable housing must be implemented asap. There should also be a housing and/or rental cap like how they have in Manhattan. None of this "Hawaii is only for the wealthy" crap. We have more power than we think we have.
Anyway I do feel bad for some people who through no fault of their own lose their home and/or job. I guess because as a child I saw it happen with my father and when we went to the state they denied my mother because they made $13 over the maximum allowed to qualify for welfare.
Thus to this day I am VERY hardcore about many things because I remember when we were denied. I was on welfare as a child prior to that... when I was six til nine. I never forget that helpless feeling where no one wants to help. Sadly, they only wanna help themselves.
Anyway I hope that some thing is done and soon or else Hawaii will not have Hawaiians nor working class nor middle class Americans. Instead it will be only have wealthy people there.
Do people want that? Yes or no?
