from a friend...

Has anyone heard anything solidly official about the soon/future closing of the Williamson Factory on the Northern Highway?

Much discussion yesterday and this morning about it and the repercussions on the Belize district economy - especially since many of the workers there are heads of households, including single mothers.

The closing of the Nova Shrimp Farm/Factory really put a hurt on us from last year, from which we (Belize District) are still staggering...


one response...

Nothing solidly official but its generally accepted in
media circles that "the sewing factory" has taken the
decision to scale back production significantly.

Rural Belize District and parts of Orange Walk was hit
severely when late Jim Hyde passed and NOVA closed its
doors. Jim was holding things together and with his passing
came the closure of the operations.

Now Williamson Industries (Belize)has been complaining we
hear of high overhead costs and some say taxes. We don't
know how true this is. I thought they had some tax exempt
status but have not been able to independently confirm.

Its been largly dismissed in local media but a hell of a story as more unemployment = more crime.

Belize would have lost over a thousand jobs in the past
year, if Williamson goes the way of Nova Shrimp Farms.

I have a friend who is a manager there and he told me they have heard nothing.

thats good to hear.

i have a friend who was in Belize in March and said the talk was that Williamson was already in the process of laying off some of the workers. He was told that the operation was moving to Guatemala. People living in the Ladyville area were quite concerned since they had already lost Nova shrimp a few months earlier.

i like your friends report much better.

Nothing new, the owner is retiring and I hear the operation will move to a country with lower production costs. Our loss if that happens.

Just curious... did the Williamson Factory actually close? Can't tell for sure from this thread as of 5/07.

TIA

Yes, it was in the news a week or so ago that they had laid off the last of the employees.

Was in the Belize district, not Corozal.

Sad when it happens...

Our local paper today had a big headline that a big bakery plan in town was closing and Spartanburg is losing 525 jobs by this March. Life goes on..

Oops... make that "plant" not "plan"

Plant is totally closed now.