KYTX - More than 400 employees at Tyler's Carrier plant were told this morning that the Carrier plant in Tyler could be closing. The company has proposed the closure but it is subject to a collective bargaining agreement with the union.
If they choose to close, the company will continue operations through the end of 2013.
Carrier tells CBS 19 they are proposing the closure after a review of business and market conditions.
"I thought it was a shame that again we're losing jobs to a foreign country," Carrier worker Darren Hawks said about the possible closure.
He's worked at Tyler's plant for close to 20 years.
"I don't know what I'm going to do because I'm right in the middle of an age where I don't want to be looking for a job. There are a lot of unemployed people out there who are a lot younger than me so I'm just curious what job I'm going to find," he said.
Workers learned this morning that carrier is proposing a shutdown of the plant.
"It had been a rumor," Robbie Steward said. Steward has worked for the company since 1969.
"I just knew it was coming sooner or later," he said.
Carrier spokesperson Michelle Caldwell says The shutdown is pending a collective bargaining agreement with the sheet metal workers union.
"We go under negotiations starting next week for severance packages and whatever we can get for employees who lose their jobs,"Local Sheet Metal Workers Union manager, Blain Strickland, said.
Strickland says the jobs are headed to Mexico.
"They're wages are like $4 an hour. American companies can't compete with that," he said.
Carrier said there decision came down to the numbers. They said since 2005 housing starts are down 71 percent and non residential construction is down 59 percent. Carrier said it was those numbers that affected their market decision."
Strickland disagrees with that explanation.
"Since 1992 carrier has closed 6 manufacturing plants in the United States," he said. "There is no other reason than cheap labor."
In the last decade, Tyler's Carrier plant has slowly shrunk its workforce from 1250 to just over 400. A blow to the economy.
"It will impact Tyler. Fortunately the jobs that were eliminated or moved prior have already been absorbed back into the community so we should be able to absorb these over a period of time for those that end up staying in Tyler," Tyler Mayor Barbara Bass said.
Bass says the city will have do a feasibility study to determine the economic impact.
Tom Mullins who heads Tyler's Economic Development Council says if you look at Goodyear which lost 1000 jobs when it closed in 2008, its closure had a billion dollar impact on Tyler. So potentially, he says, Carrier could have $400-500 million impact if it does shut down.
While the future looks bleak, some employees say they aren't giving up hope just yet.
"Next two years you never know what will happen things might go skyrocket high," Stewart said.
