Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / One of many in this area: No job, no benefits, no prospects
One of many in this area:
No job, no benefits, no prospects
by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 8, 2009
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
Jim Jorgensen stands outside the General Motors Technical Center's main building, where he worked through the end of 2008. |
Warren - Jim Jorgensen used to play an important role in General Motors Corp. global strategy, but that strategy collapsed and Jorgensen is one of the many automotive engineers looking for work.
"I'm as active as it's possible to be in looking for work, but it is obviously and understandably a difficult problem. Everybody's laying off and nobody's hiring," says Jorgensen, 56, a member of St. Louise de Marillac Parish in Warren.
His job ended Dec. 31, with his pay and benefits continuing through March 31, but now he's on unemployment compensation.
Jorgensen was the with the engineering team at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren working on projects for GM's Swedish subsidiary Saab.
As design release engineer, he served as liaison between the team in Warren and Saab in Sweden, and no design was final until he said so.
But the Swedish carmaker lost its place in GM's global strategy as the corporation was forced to rethink nearly every aspect of its business plan as it struggled to survive with huge loans from the U.S. government.
With GM seeking to unload Saab, Jorgensen and the rest of his team were let go as of the end of 2008. Although he worked at a GM facility, Jorgensen was a contract employee - but his actual employer, Costal N.A. of Troy - did not have another assignment for him.
With his income drastically reduced, Jorgensen contacted the food pantry at St. Mark Parish in Warren for assistance, but also became an active volunteer there. He also volunteers with Focus: HOPE and the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) food distribution program.
Jorgensen signed up for the No Worker Left Behind program of Michigan Works, the state employment service. "They're testing us, and trying to steer us in a direction that suits our abilities," he says.
But Jorgensen believes the real solution for the many out-of-work automotive engineers is retraining. "I'd really like to switch from automotive to green technology," he says.
For degreed professional engineers such as himself and many jobless former colleagues, Jorgensen says a 14-week course at a community college would probably be all that would be required.
But there is no such program currently offered in Macomb County, he adds.
But something needs to be done soon. Jorgensen says he knew the end was coming and prepared for it - getting rid of credit card debt and car payments, and building up savings to keep his mortgage current for about a year. But after that, who knows?
Jorgensen and his wife, and one of their two daughters, live in Warren, about two miles from where he used to work.
"It's a struggle, and you can do it, but I can definitely see where there will be some people who will fall through the cracks," he says.
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