America's Most Unwanted

Superior Industries International Inc. of Van Nuys, California, announced yesterday that it is laying off 268 workers in Northwest Arkansas, just before Christmas. Steve Rust, president of the Fayetteville Economic Development Council, said, "This is not a good time of year to be laid off." He didn't say what time of year he and the FEDC thought would be good to lose your job.

When Superior resumes production in January, there will be about 400 employees at the Fayetteville plant, down from 1,800 in 2006. Local management at the Fayetteville plants referred all questions to the corporate office in Van Nuys. The local newspapers might have asked but did not report on recent workforce growth at Superior's three plants in Mexico or how many jobs would be lost there.

Gary Dumas, the City of Fayetteville's $112,000 Director of Operations, is also having a hard time finding a job. He learned this week that he didn't get the job as city manager in Shawnee, Oklahoma. His applications for jobs have also been rejected by Fort Smith and Janesville, Wisconsin. He could be out of a job in Fayetteville soon, too.