Cape Breton's Magazine

(And you're suggesting that they required a Sydney base.) That's right.... I still say, they went down there because they were pushed down there by the union, mak? ing its mandat.e to give them a date. I was down, I saw the facilities they had. It wasn't proper for making tuners. It wasn't big enough. (You were not surprised or shocked to see them moving part of the plant away.) No, no. Because of the cost. (You figured they were doing the right thing, business- wise.) Business-wise, yeah. Not the right thing, the economy-wise, you know, for the economy. But business-wise, sure. You could see their point. Our biggest problem was getting the finished product back out to the customer, too, and not tying up his lines. 'Cause the thing was, if you tied up his lines, you paid all his employees plus his costs. Where if they had one down in Mexico, you know, they had two ways of getting the tuner to a customer, which was a plus on their part. You must remember, they pulled out of the States and left 2,000 people out of work, in Joliet. That's where our Sydney plant came from--Joliet, and Boston--because they got a better in? centive in Sydney. So, if somebody else gives them a better incentive, what are they going to do? Two thou? sand employees down there (iii the States), walking the damn street, be? cause Nova Scotia made a better deal with them. So when the Mexicans turned around and gave them a better deal, we went and cried. But we didn't cry,because we put 2,000 peo? ple out on the street down in Joliet, in Boston. It wasn't a plant that was thought up in Sydney. This was a plant that ran for 20 years. People had 20 years with General Instru? ments, 25 in Joliet, that lost their jobs. So everybody's saying, you know, it's this and that. It's a political foot? ball, in these businesses. Some day maybe Sydney'11 say to General Instru? ments, "Come on back up, we'll give you a better deal." They'll pull out of somewheres else. 'Cause they're making money on those deals. They make money. There's no doubt. They're not going to come from Joliet to Sydney ju' to make tuners. They must have got a bundle from somebody, through this. (To come here?) Sure. They must have got a bun? dle somewheres. Political, somewheres. You know, they're not going to pull a plant up here. I've seen 18 trucks-- when they first came to Sydney--18 truckloads of material coming from Jo? liet up to here. Obsolete, but we used it till we got our new stuff. Those people walking the road, and our peo? ple working. (You can understand why I question your faith, your trust that General Instruments might have left us with a portion of a plant.) Yeah. Number One, they told us it was cheaper to ship--see, we were shipping from Sydney to U. K. on boat. Okay, it was cheaper for them to make the tuner in Syd? ney and ship it to the U. K. It'd be more expensive from Mexico. We were shipping tuners over to France. So it was cheaper for them to send this tuner from Sydney. They told us that. A hell of a lot cheaper. (So it would be worthwhile, in your opin? ion, to have a little assembly plant here.) That's right. They could have made the (U. K.) tuner here, the Taiwan tuner, and they could have made the French tuner here. And down in Mexico they could have made the Philco tuner. (So, given today's incentives, and if Gen? eral Instruments were still making tuners. CAPE BRETON, TUNE IN TO THE NUMBER ONE NETWORK. The Canadian Airlines network is the

Cape Breton's Magazine