• Business changes Business changes As in life, change is a sure thing for businesses and their workers. This week several announcements made by major businesses are sure to have an effect on life on Kaua‘i. The biggest may –
• Business changes
Business changes
As in life, change is a sure thing for businesses and their workers. This week several announcements made by major businesses are sure to have an effect on life on Kaua‘i.
The biggest may – or may not – end up affecting the Island. Flight attendant unions have said they may target with strikes United Airlines and Hawaiian Air, among other air carriers, Both the airlines are rebuilding, and Hawaiian Air is showing great progress in overcoming bankruptcy. The strikes are aimed at protecting jobs, pension funds and other areas concerning flight attendants. Employees at non-union Delta Air took major reductions in pay recently to keep the airline flying. If the strikes come about as threatened, it could put a damper in Christmas holiday travel plans for many Kaua‘i residents and Kaua‘i visitors.
The purchase of Sears by big box discounter K-Mart comes into focus in Lihu‘e at Kukui Grove Shopping Center as both companies have stores in the shopping center. Will we see one of the Kaua‘i stores close down? Will the two stores blend inventory and image? Will employees face layoffs? Those are all uncertainties at this point.
Another change was the purchase of Polynesian Adventure Tours by Norwegian Cruise Lines. The cruise company is growing by leaps and bounds with the addition of new ships and it needed a tour bus company of its own to facilitate the needs of its growing number of passengers. Polynesian is a highly regarded local company and hopefully its employees and image will keep up this high standard. This purchase is a sign that the impact of tour passengers on our economy and at our main port at Nawiliwili is on the rise. These arrivals will add to our annual tally of visitors and should be yet another stimulus to our already-booming economy.
Overall, the changes show how Kaua‘i has changed over the past quarter century from an Island that was in many ways more self contained to an Island where companies from off-island are having more and more of an effect on the local economy.
This change is one we can do little about, and one that we are adapting to as we move on in the 21st century.
