“In Scranton, where ammunition for the defense of Kyiv is produced, jobs and investments appear.”, — write: www.unian.ua
In Scranton, where ammunition for the defense of Kyiv is produced, jobs and investments appear.
The plant for the production of projectiles for Ukraine in Scranton brings new jobs and investments to the city / photo president.gov.uaThe production of artillery shells for Ukraine has become a real economic boon for American arms factories, in particular, for Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania, where 155 mm artillery shells are produced for the Armed Forces. According to The Washington Post, since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US government has allocated almost 175 billion dollars in military aid. However, most of this money stays in the United States, increasing production at military plants and creating new jobs.“Contractor General Dynamics has added more than 200 jobs to Scranton since 2022, and artillery production has more than doubled. Gentex, a military contractor in nearby Carbondale, Pa., has increased its workforce by 10 percent in the past year. German glass company Schott, which manufactures high-tech optical products for civilian and military needs in Duryea, Pennsylvania, has added dozens of jobs over the past five years,” WP writes.
These jobs are helping to avert an economic downturn in the area, WP notes.
For decades after coal mines and textile mills closed, Scranton’s unemployment rate was at least two percentage points higher than the national average, said Satyajit Ghosh, a University of Scranton professor who studies the region’s economy. And now this indicator is often higher than the national one.
According to Bob Durkin, president of the local chamber of commerce, the city is in desperate need of nurses. In connection with the rapid expansion of universities and hospitals, electricians are in demand for connecting buildings. There are also many retail jobs that need to be filled. At the same time, housing here is much cheaper than in the big cities nearby.
For US President Joe Biden, who lived in Scranton for up to 10 years, defense production is both a boon for Ukraine and a balm for the long-standing economic decline, writes WP.
“Think what will happen when this plant closes in Scranton or anywhere else in the country, when schools are underfunded, when inequality grows wider and wider. It will make the middle class even more inaccessible and rob communities of dignity, pride and hope across the country, including and here in Pennsylvania,” the president said during a speech in the area.
Zelensky’s visit to PennsylvaniaWe will remind, during his visit to the USA, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited the factory for the production of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Scranton (Pennsylvania) together with the governor of the state, Democrat Josh Shapiro. The President thanked the plant’s workers and also announced that the plant will increase the production of ammunition.
This caused outrage among Republicans. In particular, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, considered it a pre-election event in support of Kamala Harris and interference in the American elections and demanded from Zelensky to release the ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, Oksana Markarova, who organized this visit.
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