Come on bro, it’s not fair to say that they wouldn’t be working in a factory that is losing money. You have relatively low employment options in that part of the state and if you have been working at the same place for 10-20+ years you feel a certain comfort or stability. More importantly, as a privately held company these guys wouldn’t have access to the financials. However when we were brought in, alarm bells should have been going off and they should have been working on figuring out a plan B in case they were to lose their jobs.
I think your second paragraph is spot on. instead of whining and complaining, being proactive is always a winning strategy. Even now I would say that they could have: 1. Upgraded their skills by taking courses at the local tech college 2. Started a home based business 3. Moved elsewhere 4. Worked on/pressured the State to declare the region an economic empowerment zone/brought in other business/manufacturers. Complaining about the condition brings you nothing.
I see the same thing on this message board.