Congressman Huelskamp Statement on Siemens Layoffs
September 18, 2012
Congressman Huelskamp Statement on Siemens Layoffs
(HUTCHINSON, KAN.) – On Tuesday, Siemens announced that it would lay off approximately 150 employees at its Hutchinson, Kan. wind power plant. Siemens cited a number of factors in its decision to lay off 60 percent of its workforce, including its need "to respond to market conditions," "uncertainty surrounding the future of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for new wind turbine installations," and "the current trend toward more natural gas based power generation due to record low natural gas prices and still lingering recession impacts on energy demand growth." Congressman Tim Huelskamp, who represents Hutchinson, issued the following statement about the layoffs:
“Job losses are a heart-wrenching and all-too-common occurrence in this weak Obama economy. And today, workers at Siemens became the latest victims of the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression. Additionally, the lack of demand for these Siemens products is the result of other more competitive forms of electrical generation, like coal and natural gas. While I wish that Siemens could stand on its own and compete with other energy sources, no industry should bank on a major, temporary tax subsidy from Washington. If the lawmakers who reauthorized this massive wind subsidy in 2008 intended for it to be permanent, they should have made it so. For long-term economic prosperity, we need permanent even-handed tax policy that Americans can rely upon – not temporary tax expenditures benefiting only certain industries and select individuals.”
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