Bakersfield Company A Reflection Of America’s Economy

From 223 Jobs To Zero

                                                               
By Dell Hill

The Lortz Manufacturing Company in Bakersfield, California closed its doors this week.  And like hundreds of similar employers, the reason was “we just ran out of money”.  The cost of doing business in America has reached the point where the doors are closing and dedicated employees become instantly unemployed faster than any government program could possibly keep up.

The next time you hear a politician tell you that “we turned the corner on this recession”, or “we’re creating jobs in America”, just remember this story from Courtenay Edelhart at Bakersfield.com.

“Metal fabricator Lortz Manufacturing Co. closed this week after 64 years in business,, putting 46 people out of work.

Most of the employees who were let go when the company shut down Monday were still owed back pay.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the California Department of Industrial Relations had received 32 unpaid wage claims, and more claims were pending, said agency spokeswoman Erika Monterroza.

In a statement issued Tuesday, president and chief operating officer Nathan Lortz said, "there is no way to explain how badly we feel about the negative impact we have thrust on extremely loyal and talented employees and vendors.

"The fact is quite simple. We ran out of funds, culminating with a freeze on our bank accounts on Friday."

The company's woes started when $2.5 million in fabrication orders were canceled with no notice, Lortz said.  The then $24 million a year company didn't have a line of credit, he said.

From a peak of 223 employees, Lortz reduced its payroll to 146 in 2008; 95 in 2009, and 84 last year before shrinking to 46 as of its closing, according to the statement.
It also cut pay across the board for remaining employees.

It wasn't enough.

In addition to failing to make payroll, the company has a delinquent tax bill, according to the Kern County Assessor's Office. It owes $48,598.89 in back taxes and $4,859.88 in penalties on supplies, office furniture, machinery and equipment.

Charles Lortz Sr. founded the company in 1947, initially calling it Lortz & Son Manufacturing. Located in northwest Bakersfield at 4042 Patton Way, the company did metal fabrication work for the energy, aerospace, agriculture and food processing industries, among others.”

Read the entire report by clicking here.

The Lortz closing only adds salt to another recent wound to Bakersfield’s economy.

Bakersfield got called out again Tuesday, this time for being the city with the nation's seventh lowest average credit score.

Credit rating agency Experian announced that Bakersfield's average credit score of 709 made it the 137th across the country.  No other California city made the bottom 10.

Wausau, Wis., topped the list with its average score of 789.  San Francisco was the only California city in the top 10, ranking fifth with an average score of 781.  Harlingen, Texas, had the lowest score in the country, with 686.

The rankings, based on average scores between January and June, reflect factors such as personal debt-to-credit ratios, employment status and foreclosure activity.

It’s not a question of “will” California’s long slide for the economic dumper and default
take place, but “when”.