A long time [15+ years] very good friend of mine just lost his job.
He told me of his plant closing [the one in the below story] back in December and that his last day would be today [Jan. 27, 2009].
Sure enough, he's now unemployed.  
He worked at TrinityRail [Springfield, Missouri] for about 12 years.
He declined comment when KOLR/KSFX tried to interview him in December.


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Freight Car Manufacturer Closing
Reported by: Jennifer Denman
Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008 @05:56pm CST

There's been another blow to Springfield's manufacturing industry and more than 200 employees are about to lose their jobs.

Tuesday, Aaron’s Automotive announced plans to shut down and now we’ve learned Trinity North American Freight Car is also closing its TrinityRail plant in Springfield.

228 hourly and administrative employees are going to be without jobs on February 2nd. TrinityRail repairs, maintains and rebuilds railcars in an industrial area of Springfield.

A number of employees KOLR/KSFX spoke with today are in shock and wondering how they are going to make it with more manufacturing jobs lost than there are available.

Clint Wright has worked at TrinityRail in Springfield for six years and now he's been laid off.

"It's rough what am I supposed to do now," says Wright.

He says he was making top pay at around $16 an hour, but now he along with 227 of his co-workers were given a 60 days notice.

"It's very upsetting because I got a family I've got two little kids and now I got to find a way to support ‘em and from the signs of things and the economy and everywhere else there aren't going to be no jobs so what are we supposed to do," says Wright.

Trinity North American Freight Car would not go on camera with us about the closure, but issued a small statement saying the closing is due to a downturn in orders in that sector of the business. We also obtained a letter sent by the company to Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson alerting the city to the closing, effective February 2nd.  With it, a list of employees who work at the plant, ranging from welders to painters even supervisors.

"It's the worst time of the year that anything like this could happen to anybody I wouldn't wish this on anyone," says Wright.

"We were told of the February 2nd closing and we are hopeful that between now and then we can assist these folks with other employment in the manufacturing sector," says Mary Lily Smith, Economic Development Director for Springfield.

The city says it's determined to continue to bring new business to Springfield. For those like Wright and the nearly 200 others out of work in this latest round of cuts, that time can't come soon enough.

Wright says he and the others are getting a $500 bonus to stick around until the closing date and they will be compensated for vacation time that was not taken.