Next to be outsourced: canned pineapple

Not only do 120 jobs on Maui go down the rat hole, but consumers get stuck with inferior imports that (to us, anyway) taste stringy and flavorless.

http://starbulletin.com/2007/05/01/news/story02.html

Yesterday, David C. Cole, chairman, president and CEO of MLP, said the move is needed to keep the pineapple business afloat.

MLP will eliminate about 120 jobs with the cannery's closure. Eligible workers will be offered severance packages, while others might be transferred to fresh-fruit operations....

Cole said he nevertheless had made the decision with a heavy heart.

"It's very difficult to make this kind of decision," Cole said. "One thing that helped somewhat, though it's hardly a justification, is the fact that unemployment rates are at historic lows. If you're going to pick a time to make necessary adjustments, it's far more difficult in a recession."

Oh, that's absolutely brill, Mr. Cole! :sarcasm: Turn 120 people loose so they can snap up crappy, low-wage, odd-hours jobs in the hospitality industry, you know, the kind that make half the high school grads in the state split for Vegas every year. :P

And by the way, imported pineapple sucks. Sadly, it's getting harder and harder to find the real thing...

war, empty rhetoric about democracy, and of course weapons.

I could just imagine a billboard featuring a Vegas showgirl and the slogan:
"AMERICAN ASS IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT EXPORT"

:evilfrown:

except they also export cement.

who is going to buy the crap these Multi-national corporations produce? It won't be the third world workers that they pay less than slaves wages to. I think these greedy corporations are screwing themselves out of a very profitable consumer base by outsourcing American jobs. But what do I know?

less profits (meaning, less salary for the executives and lesser value for the price of their stock)? I have not been convinced bankruptcy is inevitable.

Here's the reason. Most middle-class people have become convinced (rightly so) that they need to forget all about Social Security, and that their 401k is the only thing that will save them, and thus, the very people who will lose their jobs over this, are also the John Q. Public stockholder who roots for Corporate America because that is directly tied to his 401k balance.

It's a horrible horrible catch-22 situation, and the only logical explanation I can come up with.

in terms of yields and fees.

"Plans to build a new microcannery as well were put on hold."

They found that they could make more money by outsourcing the product. period.

I bet they were going forward with this new cannery when, some bright young prick in the company said, "you know sir, you could save yourself a ton of money by not building the new cannery and sourcing the labor to India where wages are 1/100th you pay here". With dollar signs in his eyes, Cole stopped the planning.

I'm sure his heart will be still breaking when in a few months from now he will reap the obscene monetary rewards of outsourcing.

that are made in America, so consumers can choose those. Similar to an "organic" label.

First, I received a letter from Dole saying the juice is now made by Duo Juices, whose website is dolejuices.com.

My letter:

I see that your pineapple juice comes
from Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia.

I've been drinking this for a while, but I no longer wish to consume food from undisclosed sources, or
from countries whose rules and regulations regarding food safety are not known to me.

I had assumed the pineapples came from Hawaii.
Just letting you know.

EMAIL*MESSAGE*END

Reply (note the "We sorry...")

We sorry to learn about your concern with Dole using fruit from countries outside the U.S. We buy concentrates from the U.S. whenever possible, however, since the supply of many fruits is limited, we may need to import concentrates from other countries.

You can be assured that we have strict specifications and monitoring procedures, and we are in compliance with all regulatory requirements
with respect to importing juice from other countries. The final product is packaged under the supervision of our Quality Control Department and the United States Department of Agriculture.

We hope this information is helpful to you. Please accept the coupon we've sent via US Mail. It should arrive in 7 to 10 business days. We hope you'll continue to be a valued Dole consumer.

Thank you for your business and for taking the time to contact us.

Cathy
Dole Consumer Response

In summary: They don't care.