Is Southbridge Being Hyde-Jacked?

Ken O’Brien

Southbridge Town Council Vice Chair Denise Clemence

Contrary to what, at this point, may be a prevailing opinion, I have no bias against the local company Hyde Manufacturing.

In point of fact, the prior scion of that family, Robert U. Clemence, extended to me a great kindness.

Back in the days that probably precede those which most readers of The O’Zone can remember, I was a Senior at what was then Marianhill Central Catholic High School.

That was 1968-69.

I was applying to a variety of colleges.

One of them was Harvard.

Much to my surprise, Mr. Clemence invited me to join him at a meeting of the Harvard Club of Worcester. (Neither of my parents worked for Hyde).

It was a wonderful evening, and ultimately I was accepted to and graduated from Harvard with honors.

In the short time I was able to get to know Mr. Clemence, I was impressed by his humanity. While he had the overwhelming responsibilities of running a company and being a person of prominence in the community as well as being a family man, he had a firm devotion to his responsibility to the town of Southbridge.

It is for this reason that I am so concerned about what is apparently happening to this company now.

It also seems to demonstrate how far we have devolved as a society.

Hyde is a privately owned company. As such, it does not have to divulge any plans that may impact the value of a publicly-traded stock.

But it is a major employer in Southbridge, a community plagued by economic problems and a declining economy.

This was why I was concerned when reports reached me that the company was planning to move manufacturing operations to another country.

I did know that in 2004 they had acquired a Canadian company with a complementary product line.

Since I first raised this issue on March 9, I have had no information to the contrary.

Since then, however, I have heard from a variety of employees of the firm.

I have been told that manufacturing equipment has been shipped to Canada.

I have been told that rumors are rampant among the workers at Hyde that operations in Southbridge will be downsized to a customer service office and perhaps a minimally-staffed warehouse.

I have been told that layoffs are proceeding at a rate of about two people every three weeks.

One distraught woman remarked that her 64 year old husband had just been laid off after working there most of his life. What, she asked, was he supposed to do now?

All of these reports are, of course, anecdotal. I cannot vouch for their validity. But, I think that those who work for this company should know what the plan is. They are entitled to the opportunity to make plans for their future survival if they are shortly to be unemployed.

I think that it is incumbent upon a current influential and highly placed town councilor who is an intimate member of the family that owns this company to come clean on this.

If the information that I am receiving is incorrect, make a strong, open and public denial.

If not, then admit it so that average people in Southbridge who will be left high and dry when you move out can plan for their future.

Holding infomercials during town council meetings for pizza parlors and laundromats is not adequate compensation.