SK hynix is now promising West Lafayette 1,000 jobs and economic growth. But not all of those jobs are high-paying, and many require specialized expertise. To make things even more selective, the company prefers candidates who are bilingual in Korean and English.

So if you're a local hoping to benefit from this deal, you might want to start learning Korean.

Before we buy into the already not so great vision, let’s take a look at what happened the last time a city trusted them (Click to read: Bad Bet)

In the 1990s, Eugene, Oregon, made a similar bet. The city offered generous subsidies, tax breaks, and invested heavily in infrastructure to welcome SK hynix’s chip plant. It was supposed to transform the local economy.

The plant did open, at least NOT in the middle of neighborhoods. And those “high-paying jobs”? They mostly went to industry experts brought in from elsewhere, not to local workers. The local hiring they pledged never truly materialized. Only 1 in 5 jobs went to local residents, according to the state economist. No independent audit ever confirmed the company’s claims. The people who lived there never got the opportunities they were promised. Within just a decade, in 2008, SK hynix abruptly shut the plant down, laying off 1,100 workers. 
The hidden costs? Population growth tied to the plant added $27 million in infrastructure expenses: schools, sewers, roads, and firehouses, all of it paid for by the community. And when the company left, taxpayers were left with $11 million in social service costs and a potential Superfund cleanup for chemical waste.

Economists warned from the start: the jobs wouldn’t reduce unemployment, they would bring in more people and strain public services. And that’s exactly what happened.

Now, they’re making the same promises to West Lafayette.

This isn’t speculation. It’s history.

And history has a way of repeating itself when we don’t pay attention.

Share your concerns with our city councilors  (click here) and mayor Erin Easter (eeaster@westlafayette.in.gov), urge them for a NO to the rezoning vote in alignment with the Area Plan Commission’s recommendation. Our elected officials have a responsibility to protect the residents, not corporate interests.
There is still time to make the right decision.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

To be counted in the public record before the City Council vote:

o   Submit your name and address via Google Form Or email with your name and address: clerk@westlafayette.in.gov, cc: CityCouncil@westlafayette.in.gov

o   Visit: Facebook page | Website, Sign and share the Petition and this update