For many Madisonians, the first thing they’ll notice about the closing of the Oscar Mayer plant on Madison’s north side is they won’t see the Wienermobile around much anymore.
But the economic impact is far greater. Between the headquarters and the plant, the company employed about 1,000 people. Even in a metro area as large as Madison, that’s a lot of jobs, particularly since many were some of the better-paying jobs available without a bachelor’s degree.
Ask people who have family ties in Madison, and you’ll quickly learn the economic impact that Oscar Mayer had on this town. My step-grandma worked as a secretary for several executives there, and the money she made helped pay for my step-dad’s education. It was an avenue of social mobility that will now, sadly, be closed.
The good news is that maybe the city will be able to expand the overcrowded parking lot at the North Transfer Point. And some Heinz execs will get a nice bonus for maximizing profit at the new plant in Iowa.
Speaking of Iowa, isn’t the poaching of jobs by other states what the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is supposed to prevent? Another failure for a department with a shaky record. There have been whispers of a plant closing ever since news of the Kraft-Heinz merger broke, so it shouldn’t have come as a total surprise.
I feel for the workers and their families and worry about the already shaky economic future of the part of town I call home. I hope Mayor Soglin and the city council will work to get something into that giant campus, but I’m not optimistic. How many years did it take to get the Royster-Clark property on Cottage Grove Road cleaned up for development? Union Corners on East Washington?
I hope the city and county have a bit more urgency here. An abandoned plant will be an eyesore, particularly as it is a gateway to the city for anyone coming from the airport or Milwaukee. Empty ruins will be a major problem for the neighborhood. Turning this around seems far more important than redeveloping one block of downtown.
In addition to dealing with the empty plant, Madison and Dane County leaders need to redouble their efforts to create jobs that don’t require lots and lots of advanced education. That’s not a knock on the tech sector or the UW, but we need diversification if we are going to solve our area’s horrendous economic disparities. The Oscar Mayer closing is a big step in the wrong direction. Now we need a new step in the right direction from our leaders.
