By Hannah Lodge, Reporter-Times
hlodge@reportert.com
The loss of at least 84 jobs at Harman/Becker Automotive Systems could affect more workers than those employees, an Indiana Business Research Center official said.
Jerry Conover, director of the center, said major job losses at a large employer like Harman/Becker could have a ripple effect on other industries in Morgan County and surrounding areas. If Harman/Becker scales back its operations, it would likely also reduce purchases of goods and services from other local vendors, he said.
"In addition, they may be buying things like janitorial services or other business service out of the local market - office supplies, etcetera, in which cases the businesses selling those things to them might feel the impact," he said.
Another impact may come in the form of consumer spending, he said. Job losses in Martinsville means fewer dollars spent in the local market - on things like gas, groceries, and other items.
"If they are to find other jobs and get by on less income in the interim, that'll certainly have an effect on local merchants," he said. "If they take other jobs that don't pay as well, that could have a more lasting effect."
Even if Harman/Becker were to leave the county entirely, however - a worst-case scenario - Conover said there are ways to bounce back.
"It would have a much bigger impact than just getting rid of 84 workers, of course, but sometimes companies redeploy a facility that may be very attractive to a new business that could use the same facilities," he said. "It may be just what another company is looking for ... but that's an optimistic scenario."
In Bloomington, for example, Cook Pharmica operates in a facility that was vacant for several years, he said. The same thing happened with Columbia House in Terre Haute.
Drawing new employers into the area often requires some effort on the part of residents, he said.
"Those kinds of things, converting an old vacant facility to new uses, don't happen without the local economic development community working hard to make them happen."