An Ohio Town Is Hard Hit as Leading Industry Moves to China

Like many small industrial towns, Bryan Ohio has a few big employers. When one of them – the Ohio Art Company – decided three years ago to move its signature product line, the "Etch A Sketch" toy, to China, the community felt both the loss of 100 jobs and the loss of a community symbol. Etch A Sketch models used to decorate the town, but no longer. Due to "ineluctable laws of economics," the company chose to move product development to China, using their old workers to train their Chinese replacements and to unpack the boxes that now arrive from across the Pacific. Ohio workers seem to accept that the move was predictable and economically-sound. However, the pride that was associated with being from the "Etch A Sketch" town is lost, and the citizens strongly feel both the sentimental and economic impacts. – YaleGlobal