AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that his comment last week that a southern Maine company was about to shed 900 jobs actually applied to two companies.
But despite his attempt to “clarify” statements that caused confusion and concern last week, LePage offered no other specifics and again sought to blame legislators for creating a “bleak” environment for some businesses.
Last Wednesday during a town hall-style meeting in Orono, LePage said he was aware of major layoffs coming at a company “in the most prosperous part of the state – down south.”
“There’s a big company that hasn’t come out yet, I happen to know about it and I’m sworn to secrecy until they make a public announcement, but we’re talking 900 jobs,” LePage said. LePage’s communications office refused last week to elaborate on the governor’s comments, however, and the Maine Department of Labor said it had not received any notifications that are required for large-scale layoffs.
On Tuesday, LePage told the “George Hale-Ric Tyler Show” on WVOM, a Bangor radio station: “Well, I gotta clarify that. It’s actually two companies,” before adding that it was “maybe a little more” than 900 jobs.
“It’ll be out in the next couple of months,” LePage said. “We just got an early warning. We got another warning last, well, actually we’ve gotten about four warnings now about four different companies that are really, are really being put up against it.”
Neither Tyler nor Hale – who have a friendly relationship with LePage – pressed the governor for more specifics or on his decision to go public with the “900 jobs” claim last week without offering additional details. LePage did, however, state in response to a question from Tyler that the company in question was not Catalyst Paper in Rumford.
LePage then said there have been companies “coming in left and right saying we either need some state help or we just can’t be competitive in Maine.” The governor said high wood costs, energy costs, taxes and regulation were harming businesses, before attempting to blame the situation on Democrats in the Legislature.
“And as long as we have the Democrats in power, that’s not going to change,” LePage said. “They like flipping hamburgers.”
Democrats hold the majority of seats in the Maine House, but Republicans have control of the Maine Senate. The governor has had a rocky relationship with the Senate Republican caucus, however, and repeatedly criticized the chamber’s Republican leadership last year during a high-profile budget fight.
During his interview with WVOM, LePage took another swipe at the Maine Senate when he said the chamber might as well be in Democratic hands “because they’re not doing much better.”
LePage’s statements in Orono prompted widespread concern and speculation in southern Maine. City and town managers in Portland, South Portland, Scarborough and North Berwick – all communities with large employers – told the Portland Press Herald that they weren’t aware of any local companies closing or eliminating hundreds of jobs. Queries to Maine’s congressional delegation and to Maine & Co., a quasi-state agency that attracts businesses to Maine, produced similar results.
Julie Rabinowitz, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Labor, said last week the state hasn’t received any notification from a company planning a significant layoff. Federal law requires companies that plan mass layoffs to notify state and federal labor officials, as well as town and city officials, at least 60 days before the job cuts take effect.
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