A solidly sourced and expertly reported story in Charlottesville Tomorrow on the shock closure of a major employer in Orange County buried the lede on what led to the immediate layoffs of more than 130 people – the disastrous Trump tariffs, and surging fuel costs.
To the credit of Charlottesville Tomorrow, buried deep into the reporting as it was, we did get from the story on the closure of Zamma Corporation, which was founded in 1970, and specialized in prefinished molding, that the manufacturer had been on the brink “for years.”
The double-headed nail in the coffin: the Trump tariffs on raw materials, and rising gas prices caused by the ill-conceived military campaign in Iran.
The double whammy “lowered profit margins” that made Zamma’s contracts with big-box stores “unsustainable” going forward.
Charlottesville Tomorrow focused its reporting on the company apparently violating federal law in not giving employees and local and state officials the required 60-day notice in the event of a closure or mass layoffs.
That comes across to me as ignoring the forest for the trees, but the reporting on that part of the story is thorough, and complete with stories of individuals adversely impacted.
Bottom line, to me: required notice or not, 130 people are out of good-paying jobs, and it’s because of disastrous policies from the Trump regime.
As much as I want to feel bad for those 130 families impacted by the closure of Zamma Corporation, Orange County gave Donald Trump 61.6 percent of its votes in the 2024 election.
Trump and his circle told us what they were going to do – he waxed poetic about tariffs throughout the 2024 cycle.
The chickens came home to roost.
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Chris Graham
