Gosh, gosh, gosh. While we have seen several businesses downsize and jobs lost, the announcement that our Hitachi was closing really brought home the economic problems facing so many across this country.

Hitachi announced this week they would be closing the plant that has become such a great partner to Russell County. Hitachi gave Russell that additional connection to the auto industry and provided a nice level of job opportunities to this area.

While the actual plant closing remains a few months away, it appears the final decision has been made and Hitachi will definitely be leaving Russell County. While the chances appear slim, until the sign is removed from the building, at least we can still hope for a reversal of decision.

It was only a few months ago that Bruss (our other plant tied to the auto industry) and Hitachi both announced plant expansions. Now, the economic downturn has placed many jobs in jeopardy and many other jobs halted.

The loss of Hitachi will have a major impact on our economic picture here and we can only hope this is the only plant closing to hit our area.

We can very likely expect some additional cutbacks but lets hope this is the one and only total loss to this community.

Hitachi has been a great asset to Russell County and the loss of their company will definitely be noted.