“ST Engineering layoffs spur citizens to action. What they want Escambia leaders to do”

Advocates for Chilean workers who say they were laid off without warning and “abandoned” by ST Engineering after moving here from South America asked Escambia’s Board of County Commissioners to put pressure on the company to help the workers.

More than a dozen people spoke to the board on their behalf during Thursday’s meeting…

“The company has been deceitful, grossly underpaying highly trained, educated employees locally, less than half the national average in their field, and have abandoned foreign nationals whose visas they sponsor here and in Mobile….McCaffery [publisher of La Costa Latina Newspaper] told commissioners. “One former employee tells me that he owes more than $180,000 in loans and credit card debt to cover the cost of him moving his family here and moving him back with no home to return to.”…

Chilean aircraft mechanics at ST Engineering's Pensacola and Mobile, Alabama, offices say dozens of workers were laid off without warning after being recruited and moving their families to the U.S…

In statements to other media outlets, ST Engineering said the visas are temporary and not guaranteed for renewal, and it is looking for alternative work-based visa options for some workers…