June 30, 2007

What Light? What Tunnel?

There’s a growing fear at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant that production of the Toyota Tacoma truck, which represents 40 percent of the Fremont plant’s annual output, could be halted. NUMMI currently employs 5,500 workers and hasn’t had a layoff since it opened in 1984. This could affect communities from the Bay Area to Sacramento, including Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, where many of the workers live.

With the current real estate market suffering a slow down in activity this could present an even bigger real estate problem. Because NUMMI is the only factory of its kind in the Bay Area, I imagine trying to get a similar job would be very difficult for a lot of NUMMI employees, if this should happen. We are talking about a LOT of displaced people! Undoubtedly some would have to leave this area to find comparable work and affordable housing. As it is I am constantly astounded by the amount of homes for sale in the Bay Area these days, and if NUMMI employees have to move elsewhere the glut of homes for sale would be mind-boggling, to say the least.

All this on the heels of the new Oakland A’s Stadium being built in Fremont that I hoped would attract more people to buy up some of the homes for sale.