Factory Workers

When tales emerge from the retail supply chain, they're usually tragic, like the alleged sweatshop conditions at the Foxconn plants that churn out Apple products, or the 112 Bangladeshi workers who died when their factory, where clothes for Walmart, Sears Holdings and Disney were made, burned to the ground. ...

By Parija Kavilanz NEW YORK -- Northeast Indiana has a peculiar problem. There are hundreds of factory jobs ready for the taking as the area's manufacturing sector has come back to life after the recession. ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber and Tom Krisher WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits plunged last week. But a big reason is that automakers have skipped some of their usual summer shutdowns to keep up with demand, causing fewer temporary auto layoffs. Economists expect ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- Unemployment rates fell last month in most U.S. states, including in some hit hardest during the recession. ...

By Caryn Rousseau CHICAGO -- Serious Energy Inc. said Thursday it will close a Chicago window factory that became a symbol of the plight of American workers more than three years ago when employees briefly occupied the building. ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. manufacturers ended 2011 with their best month of growth since the late spring. And the struggling construction industry spent more on projects for the third time in four months. The data bolstered hopes that the economy is gaining momentum and helped Wall ...

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. manufacturing grew more slowly in October, hampered by weaker demand for exports and slower production at factories. But companies ordered more goods, factories slashed their stockpiles and auto sales rose. Those trends suggest manufacturing activity could ...

He's one of the most recognizable characters in TV commercials. The Maytag Repairman. The poor guy has nothing to do, because Maytag appliances are so reliable they never break down. So the commercial goes. Despite not having anything to do, it appears the Maytag Repairman still has a job -- unlike many real-life ...

By RACHEL KUROWSKI, AP PARIS -Workers at a struggling heater factory in northwest France are taking it all off in a bid to save their jobs: They posed nude for a calendar to call attention to their plight. Mr. February is wearing nothing but a cardboard box. Mr. October is posed like the famed Rodin sculpture ...