【Epoch Times October 22, 2024】The top leisure vehicle manufacturer in the United States, Forest River, Inc., recently announced the permanent closure of its two manufacturing plants located in Southern California. Approximately 400 employees will lose their jobs about 13 days before Christmas.
The two plants of Forest River, Inc. in Hemet and Rialto are both situated less than 100 miles east of Los Angeles. In a press release issued on the 16th, the company stated that the decision to close the California manufacturing operations was due to the rising operating costs in the state. The company submitted a mandatory 60-day notice to California on that day.
Forest River, Inc. is a subsidiary of the holding company Berkshire Hathaway. According to the notice, 239 employees at the Hemet plant and 176 employees at the Rialto plant will be laid off on December 13th. The company mentioned that they are closely collaborating with the affected employees to provide support during the transition period.
Established in 1996, Forest River has become one of the primary manufacturers in North America for recreational vehicles, cargo trailers, flat bottom boats, buses, camper vans, and commercial trucks.
Although manufacturing operations at the Hemet plant will cease, the company plans to transform it into a specialized Forest River service center.
Doug Gaeddert, President of the Forest River RV Division, stated, “The opening of this new service center ensures that our California RV owners and dealers have access to our top-notch service network locally.”
The service center will be open to Forest River products manufactured across the United States.
The California manufacturing operations currently conducted by Forest River will be moved to the company’s Indiana plant, where the company was established and has its headquarters.
Forest River will continue to operate over 100 plants in Indiana, Oregon, and Georgia.
Forest River is the latest large company to leave California. Previously, Phillips 66 announced on the 16th the closure of a refinery near the Los Angeles harbor, leading to 600 job losses.
In August, Chevron Corporation announced plans to relocate its headquarters to Texas, citing disagreements with California on energy policies and regulations.
Earlier this year, Neutrogena closed its Los Angeles headquarters and shifted operations to New Jersey.
Other notable companies that have recently left California include Oracle, Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, and Charles Schwab.
In July, Elon Musk stated his intention to move the headquarters of his social media company X and rocket company SpaceX from San Francisco to Texas, citing his opposition to a new law passed in California the day before by Governor Newsom, which was the first of its kind in the U.S. banning school districts from informing parents of any changes in their children’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
According to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, since January 2022, California has consistently ranked among the worst-performing states in terms of job growth in the U.S. The latest statistics show that almost all job positions created in California are government positions.
In an August report, the Hoover Institution highlighted that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, California added around 156,000 job positions between January 2022 and June 2024, with government jobs accounting for nearly 97%.
Senior Research Fellow Lee Ohanian stated in an article on August 7th that the collapse of the private sector jobs in California was unprecedented, considering that California makes up about 12% of the U.S. population, causing a drag on the U.S. economy.
Ohanian pointed out that businesses were choosing to leave the state due to California’s economic environment, where California’s economic climate ranks as the fifth worst in the nation. Despite having many natural advantages, California’s commercial environment created by its state and local economic policies is unable to compete with other states. ◇