When Carrier Corporation, Syracuse's largest employer, shut down its factories to move to China and Singapore, many feared that its 1,200 laid-off workers would struggle to survive in a post-industrial economy. Little did experts know that, with the generous help of Carrier, almost half the workers have enrolled in college or vocational courses, perhaps to train for employment in a less flexible job market. The news is not all wonderful for Carrier's laid-off workers, however; education does not ensure that the workers will find jobs or, if they do, that the jobs will pay as well as Carrier did. Still, many feel that Syracuse Carrier workers are doing better than expected.
See "Take Up a New Career at 50? In Syracuse, Life After Layoffs", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, June 19, 2005