Statement From Paul Moran, Executive Director of Jobs for New England Now, on the Connecticut Attorney General's Press Conference and the Pratt & Whitney Layoffs
HARTFORD, Conn., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement was released by Paul Moran, Executive Director of Jobs for New England Now:
"On Monday, Connecticut residents learned that Pratt & Whitney would be shutting down two facilities in the state, resulting in the loss of one thousand jobs. It was an extremely sad day for the region and those families directly impacted. But more importantly, the event should have been a wake-up call to our state and regional leaders that creative and innovative thinking is needed to help make Connecticut more attractive to the business community.
"Unfortunately, only forty-eight hours later, the Attorney General thought it was an opportune time to use his bully pulpit to criticize another one of the state's largest employers for having to move seventy five jobs out of the state because of changing technologies. This constant blame game between state policymakers and the business community is not a productive dialogue to help change the poor jobs situation in our state. These actions of the Attorney General fail to recognize that AT&T continues to provide and grow jobs throughout the state in other developing technologies, and fail to encourage a forward looking conversation between government leaders and the business community.
"Thousands of jobs have already been lost in Connecticut, and more will continue to be lost unless state leaders realize that we need to work with our business community to make our region more business-friendly and create an environment where jobs can grow. Jobs for New England Now is dedicated to eradicating the anti-business climate that has been challenging the region for too long, and we encourage policymakers to begin a new dialogue asking, 'How can we create incentives for businesses to enter this region?' and 'How can we help sustain and create more jobs for our residents?'"
About Jobs forNew EnglandNow:
Jobs for New England Now is a coalition of citizens, businesses, pro-business groups and non-profit organizations determined to encourage economic growth and prosperity for communities across the greater New England region.
