Rochester and Kodak

***xzmattzx*** · February 14th, 2012, 04:52 PM

How is the bankruptcy of Kodak going to affect Rochester? From an outsiders' point of view, Rochester is a one-company town or two-company town (isn't Xerox also basically a Rochester company?). To use my area as an example, we have DuPont, and we had MBNA, which was bought out by Bank of America. If one of those companies went bankrupt, this area would take a huge hit, as major corporations and their world headquarters, divisional or regional headquarters, and so on are major employers. Is the same true in Rochester? What is projected for the area? Will other industries, like education or manufacturing, help keep the region from going under? Has Rochester already taken the biggest hit as Kodak tried to prevent bankruptcy?

ExWNY'er · February 15th, 2012, 05:44 AM

I know Bausch and Lomb and Paychex are also based there as well as Xerox like you mentioned. It is big but not the end of the world.

homestar · February 15th, 2012, 08:44 AM

Bankruptcy doesn't mean the company is going to disappear. It means it's going to drastically restructure while protected from creditors. If bankruptcy allows Kodak to shed some legacy costs then it could come out stronger in the end. (Or not) Some jobs will certainly be lost. And cutting legacy costs could impact retirees in the area.

Kodak employs about 7000 people. Even if every one of those jobs disappeared (which they won't) it won't make the region go under.

***desertpunk*** · February 15th, 2012, 04:32 PM

Xerox moved its headquarters to Norwalk CT and Kodak lost most of its employees years ago. The Kodak chapter 11 filing is really anticlimactic.

fubo · February 15th, 2012, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homestar

Kodak employs about 7000 people. Even if every one of those jobs disappeared (which they won't) it won't make the region go under.

With an estimated multiplier effect of 1.66 for each Kodak job the total impact if employment went to zero at Kodak would be 11,620 jobs. That would take Monroe County total employment down from the current 346,500 to 334,880 and the number of Monroe County unemployed would go from 26,500 to 38,120 and raise the Monroe County unemployment rate from the current 7.1% to 10.22%.

Like the OP said it would not be good but it would not be catastrophic either. Of course reorganization bankruptcy does not necessarily mean the jobs will go away at all. They might stay or they might stay under new ownership or they may go away. At this point no one knows.

Source for Monroe County Data - NYS Dept of Labor Dec 2011 http://www.labor.ny.gov/stats/pressr...4_12prtbur.pdf

BTW B&L is a minor player these days with only about 1,000 employees in the Rochester metro.

600West218 · February 16th, 2012, 04:33 AM

Kodak's decline in Rochester has been playing out for three decades and its impact has already been felt. At this point, even the elimination of a further 7,000 jobs would be much less dramatic.

In the early 80s Kodak has over 60,000 employees in Monroe country and it was far and away the largest employer.

Now the largest employer is the University of Rochester. The second largest is the super market chain, Wegmans (sad but true).

Rochester currently has lots of small hi tech manufacturing firms and they will be there regardless of what happens to Kodak.

Frankly, how Rochester fares in the future will be much more determined by what the politicians in Albany do than anything Kodak does.

BTW, Kodak execs really messed up over the years. At one point Kodak was effectively a conglamerate with business segments in chemicals, health care, consumer products etc. Over the past 30 years they shed those other businesses to focus on their "core" business of imaging. Now that that has been wiped out due to technological change they have nothing to fall back on. It isn't good to be a one trick pony.

600West218 · February 16th, 2012, 04:35 AM

BTW, here are the largest employers in metro Rochester:

http://rocdocs.democratandchronicle....area-employers

University of Rochester/Strong Health 19,987
Wegmans Food Markets 14,888
Rochester General Health System 7,340
Eastman Kodak 7,100
Xerox 6,808
Rochester City School District 6,099
Unity Health System 5,352
Monroe County government 4,635
Greece Central School District 3,751
Lifetime Healthcare 3,646
Rochester Institute of Technology 3,633
City of Rochester government 3,616
Paychex Inc. 3,500
YMCA of Greater Rochester 2,610
Harris RF Communications 2,300
Finger Lakes Health 1,800
Bausch + Lomb 1,600
Monroe Community College 1,591
JPMorgan Chase & Co 1,500
ITT Geospatial Systems Division 1,440
Webster Central School District 1,428
Monroe #1 BOCES 1,420
Thompson Health 1,383
Hillside Family of Agencies 1,366
SUNY Brockport 1,356
Frontier Communications Corp 1,265
CooperVision Inc. 1,200
Heritage Christian Services 1,173
Carestream 1,153
Rush-Henrietta Central School District 1,150
Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics 1,100
St. Ann's of Greater Rochester 1,066
Time Warner Cable Inc. 984
PAETEC Holding Corp. 850

fubo · February 16th, 2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 600West218

BTW, here are the largest employers in metro Rochester:

http://rocdocs.democratandchronicle....area-employers

University of Rochester/Strong Health 19,987
Wegmans Food Markets 14,888
Rochester General Health System 7,340
Eastman Kodak 7,100
Xerox 6,808
Rochester City School District 6,099
Unity Health System 5,352
Monroe County government 4,635
Greece Central School District 3,751
Lifetime Healthcare 3,646
Rochester Institute of Technology 3,633
City of Rochester government 3,616
Paychex Inc. 3,500
YMCA of Greater Rochester 2,610
Harris RF Communications 2,300
Finger Lakes Health 1,800
Bausch + Lomb 1,600
Monroe Community College 1,591
JPMorgan Chase & Co 1,500
ITT Geospatial Systems Division 1,440
Webster Central School District 1,428
Monroe #1 BOCES 1,420
Thompson Health 1,383
Hillside Family of Agencies 1,366
SUNY Brockport 1,356
Frontier Communications Corp 1,265
CooperVision Inc. 1,200
Heritage Christian Services 1,173
Carestream 1,153
Rush-Henrietta Central School District 1,150
Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics 1,100
St. Ann's of Greater Rochester 1,066
Time Warner Cable Inc. 984
PAETEC Holding Corp. 850

Sad to see so few private enterprises. Looks like a lot of government and non-profits. The biggest private employer is now a grocery store where more that three quarters of its 14,888 employees make under $10 an hour or are part time. Gone are 55,000 family supporting Kodak jobs. Sad indeed.

bayviews · February 17th, 2012, 04:39 AM

Yeah, its sad to see the downsizing of Rochester's one-time corporate giants. Kodak & later Xerox were both early, large-scale hi-tech corporations whose innovations shaped Rochester in the mold of a creative, innovative, Imagineering city. Both did very well thru the 1970s, when both began to stumble.

Xerox fumbled a chance to leap from the copier business to higher tech, & relocated its corporate HQ to Stamford CT. Kodak missed the boat on digital imaging. Lacking international airline connections—an even bigger deal before the Internet—Rochester was rather isolated. Early 1970s Rockeller era talk of a big WNY International jetport around Batavia never got off the ground, curbing the connections available to both Buffalo & Rochester.

And so today, the employment base & role of both of Rochester’s one-time corporate giants is just a fraction of what it was. However, as compared with, say, the collapse of Buffalo & other Rust Belt cities after the closure of the steel, auto, and other industrial factories, in the 1970s & 80s, Rochester seems to have weathered it’s downsizing with relative grace.

To their credit, both Kodak and Xerox have left lasting legacies in Rochester. Beginning in the turbulent mid-1960s onward, both corporate giants became proactive, progressive forces in Rochester’s civic and community affairs. And so Rochester—moreso than some other upstate cities—today retains the legacy of a city & a region, with lots of smart, high-skilled, folks who know what era we’re in, & how to get things done.

Sure, these legacies aren’t of much consolation to those who’ve lost their jobs, & many tens of thousands have. However, many who once worked at Kodak or Xerox created successful start-ups that have kept Rochester & the Finger Lakes metro region quite competitive. And the reality is that Rochester along with the Capital District continues to lead the rest of upstate NY in population growth & economic vitality.

February 15th, 2012, 04:32 PM	#4
*desertpunk* Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: ELP ~ ABQ Posts: 29,644 Likes (Received): 1370	Xerox moved its headquarters to Norwalk CT and Kodak lost most of its employees years ago. The Kodak chapter 11 filing is really anticlimactic. __________________ We are floating in space...

February 16th, 2012, 04:33 AM	#6
600West218 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 2,299 Likes (Received): 204	Kodak's decline in Rochester has been playing out for three decades and its impact has already been felt. At this point, even the elimination of a further 7,000 jobs would be much less dramatic. In the early 80s Kodak has over 60,000 employees in Monroe country and it was far and away the largest employer. Now the largest employer is the University of Rochester. The second largest is the super market chain, Wegmans (sad but true). Rochester currently has lots of small hi tech manufacturing firms and they will be there regardless of what happens to Kodak. Frankly, how Rochester fares in the future will be much more determined by what the politicians in Albany do than anything Kodak does. BTW, Kodak execs really messed up over the years. At one point Kodak was effectively a conglamerate with business segments in chemicals, health care, consumer products etc. Over the past 30 years they shed those other businesses to focus on their "core" business of imaging. Now that that has been wiped out due to technological change they have nothing to fall back on. It isn't good to be a one trick pony. __________________ England of the Industrial Revolution Industrial Northern France and Belgium

February 16th, 2012, 04:35 AM	#7
600West218 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 2,299 Likes (Received): 204	BTW, here are the largest employers in metro Rochester: http://rocdocs.democratandchronicle....area-employers University of Rochester/Strong Health 19,987 Wegmans Food Markets 14,888 Rochester General Health System 7,340 Eastman Kodak 7,100 Xerox 6,808 Rochester City School District 6,099 Unity Health System 5,352 Monroe County government 4,635 Greece Central School District 3,751 Lifetime Healthcare 3,646 Rochester Institute of Technology 3,633 City of Rochester government 3,616 Paychex Inc. 3,500 YMCA of Greater Rochester 2,610 Harris RF Communications 2,300 Finger Lakes Health 1,800 Bausch + Lomb 1,600 Monroe Community College 1,591 JPMorgan Chase & Co 1,500 ITT Geospatial Systems Division 1,440 Webster Central School District 1,428 Monroe #1 BOCES 1,420 Thompson Health 1,383 Hillside Family of Agencies 1,366 SUNY Brockport 1,356 Frontier Communications Corp 1,265 CooperVision Inc. 1,200 Heritage Christian Services 1,173 Carestream 1,153 Rush-Henrietta Central School District 1,150 Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics 1,100 St. Ann's of Greater Rochester 1,066 Time Warner Cable Inc. 984 PAETEC Holding Corp. 850 __________________ England of the Industrial Revolution Industrial Northern France and Belgium

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February 14th, 2012, 04:52 PM	#1
*xzmattzx* Philly sports fan Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 12,623 Likes (Received): 58	Rochester and Kodak How is the bankruptcy of Kodak going to affect Rochester? From an outsiders' point of view, Rochester is a one-company town or two-company town (isn't Xerox also basically a Rochester company?). To use my area as an example, we have DuPont, and we had MBNA, which was bought out by Bank of America. If one of those companies went bankrupt, this area would take a huge hit, as major corporations and their world headquarters, divisional or regional headquarters, and so on are major employers. Is the same true in Rochester? What is projected for the area? Will other industries, like education or manufacturing, help keep the region from going under? Has Rochester already taken the biggest hit as Kodak tried to prevent bankruptcy? __________________ The great state of Delaware; My daily Delaware photo; My urban photo blog Riverfront Wilmington construction photos; Center City Wilmington construction photos

February 15th, 2012, 05:44 AM	#2
ExWNY'er Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 1,086 Likes (Received): 0	I know Bausch and Lomb and Paychex are also based there as well as Xerox like you mentioned. It is big but not the end of the world.

February 15th, 2012, 08:44 AM	#3
homestar Baleeted! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Buffalo Posts: 2,685 Likes (Received): 2	Bankruptcy doesn't mean the company is going to disappear. It means it's going to drastically restructure while protected from creditors. If bankruptcy allows Kodak to shed some legacy costs then it could come out stronger in the end. (Or not) Some jobs will certainly be lost. And cutting legacy costs could impact retirees in the area. Kodak employs about 7000 people. Even if every one of those jobs disappeared (which they won't) it won't make the region go under.

February 17th, 2012, 04:39 AM	#9
bayviews Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,486 Likes (Received): 6	Yeah, its sad to see the downsizing of Rochester's one-time corporate giants. Kodak & later Xerox were both early, large-scale hi-tech corporations whose innovations shaped Rochester in the mold of a creative, innovative, Imagineering city. Both did very well thru the 1970s, when both began to stumble. Xerox fumbled a chance to leap from the copier business to higher tech, & relocated its corporate HQ to Stamford CT. Kodak missed the boat on digital imaging. Lacking international airline connections—an even bigger deal before the Internet—Rochester was rather isolated. Early 1970s Rockeller era talk of a big WNY International jetport around Batavia never got off the ground, curbing the connections available to both Buffalo & Rochester. And so today, the employment base & role of both of Rochester’s one-time corporate giants is just a fraction of what it was. However, as compared with, say, the collapse of Buffalo & other Rust Belt cities after the closure of the steel, auto, and other industrial factories, in the 1970s & 80s, Rochester seems to have weathered it’s downsizing with relative grace. To their credit, both Kodak and Xerox have left lasting legacies in Rochester. Beginning in the turbulent mid-1960s onward, both corporate giants became proactive, progressive forces in Rochester’s civic and community affairs. And so Rochester—moreso than some other upstate cities—today retains the legacy of a city & a region, with lots of smart, high-skilled, folks who know what era we’re in, & how to get things done. Sure, these legacies aren’t of much consolation to those who’ve lost their jobs, & many tens of thousands have. However, many who once worked at Kodak or Xerox created successful start-ups that have kept Rochester & the Finger Lakes metro region quite competitive. And the reality is that Rochester along with the Capital District continues to lead the rest of upstate NY in population growth & economic vitality.