WIND JOBS FOR CHRISTMAS

Job news is great Christmas present for Greeley
December 20, 2010 (The Tribune)

"It’s beginning to feel a lot like 2011 will be a good year for job growth in Greeley…[The news that wind developer] Noble Energy plans to bring 300 employees to a new field office in west Greeley is about the best Christmas present our community could have hoped for.

"Noble said it has submitted plans to the city to build…It’s not quite a done deal yet, but both sides say they are confident the details will be worked out soon…For a community that is starved for job growth, particularly for jobs that pay above the poverty level, the announcement is worth leaving an extra plate of milk and cookies for Santa."

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"Noble officials say the 300-plus employees will be executive and office workers, as well as field-worker positions. Those are the kinds of jobs that should provide a significant boost to the regional economy.

"The Noble announcement isn’t the only reason Greeley residents should have reason for optimism on the job-growth front…The wind-energy giant Vestas, which has a plant in Windsor, continues to experience strong growth in orders and is adding 40 new workers this month, part of a 100-employee expansion by next fall. The company will be employing 750 people at its Windsor plant when this latest round of hiring is complete…"

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"Communities across America would die for the kind of job announcements that have occurred here in recent months. Across the board, the companies listed above offer excellent pay and solid benefits.

"It might be a year or two from now before we can celebrate a bountiful Christmas, but there certainly is reason to be optimistic that some of Greeley’s unemployed will be able to find opportunities in the job market in the future."