General Motors operates the Saturn plant near Newport, where workers make the L-Series sedan. Both plants experienced a series of temporary shutdowns and layoffs during the past year as car and truck sales cooled. As manufacturing suffers, other sectors such as banking continue to grow in Delaware. Manufacturing is the base that we need to keep going in this country. As manufacturing has become more sophisticated with high-tech equipment, its jobs have required more training, said Ed Simon, an analyst with the state labor department.
Manufacturing also supports other industries.
Each job helps generate up to three jobs among direct suppliers and indirect services such as restaurants and other retailers, said Charles Twardowski, executive director of the Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The Lear Corp., for example, generates 13 percent of its business from DaimlerChrysler, and employs 332 workers at a plant near Newark. It supplies seats and other parts for the Durango. Manufacturing also tends to be an early indicator of the economy's overall direction. Many manufacturers said they felt the effects of the recent slowdown six months earlier than other industries.