Cedar Rapids, IA getting hit hard today. So many that they are protected by Iowa law that states they have to give 60 day notifications. last date will be Jan 18th
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On Friday, September 11, 2015, Verizon’s initial transformation hit Cedar Rapids. Upon completion of this initial transformation, currently scheduled to be completed in January 2016, there will be a loss of 200+ jobs. On Friday November 19, 2015, the transformation occurred again. Great to know that the once 2,500 + employee base will be down to less than 300 in 2016. Who cares? Over the past several months, there has been some news about economic growth and development in areas other than Cedar Rapids. Where is the economic growth and development for Cedar Rapids? Economic growth and development is more than strip malls and restaurants. What is the Council, Mayor & Chamber doing about developing policies and procedures that will bring companies to Cedar Rapids? Convincing companies to move from Hiawatha or Marion is not economic development or growth. Thus far, the 200+ Verizon employees are struggling with locating comparable opportunities in Cedar Rapids. Many are being forced to look outside of the state. Great for the other states but bad for Iowa. * Oelwein: East Penn Manufacturing on an expansion deal which could create a new facility along with 350 new jobs. * Waterloo: The Waterloo city council has reached a tentative deal for a local brewery to expand into the former Wonder Bread bakery building a few blocks from downtown. * Hiawatha: Construction on a new 60,000 square foot medical park started Wednesday. * Hiawatha: GoDaddy is eyeing a $6 million expansion and renovation of its Hiawatha facility What needs to happen? The Council, Mayor and Chamber to need to spend time understanding what other states and communities are doing to build successful policies that are driving economic growth and development. There are many examples out there but there is no evidence that these policies are being developed here. Ever hear of Facebook? Microsoft? Google? All built data centers in Western Iowa. Secondly, the Council, Mayor and Chamber need to spend time with existing businesses, small, medium and large, to capture the ‘Voice of the Customer’ (VOC). Utilizing the VOC will assist with building policies that will drive economic growth and development. No one on the Council or Chamber had any idea that Verizon was going through a transformation in Cedar Rapids because no one talked to the Verizon Leadership. If you spent time capturing the VOC, you may have had an opportunity to bring additional employment opportunities to Cedar Rapids. Your failure to know what is going on allowed Oklahoma to pick up 1,500+ new positions. How many other companies in Cedar Rapids are leaving or downsizing? There are many more in similar situations like Verizon. In summary, the Council, Mayor and Chamber need to focus on bringing new employers and working with existing employers to provide employment opportunities for Cedar Rapids. Your primary focus needs to be creating successful policies that lead to jobs. Your current focus on building bike lanes and changing one way streets to two way is not increasing employment in Cedar Rapids. Once jobs are created, employees will put their housing and shopping dollars to work for our community—and enhancing our community’s quality of life. For now, the 200+ Verizon employees must look elsewhere to put their housing and shopping dollars to work for their new communities. Regards Hope to see execution and actions!!
What orgs?