NUMMI dominoes start falling

Stockton's Kyoho Manufacturing, which opened a 260,000-square-foot facility to much local fanfare in 2008, announced that it will lay off all 154 of its workers beginning in April, according to this report.

This blow to the local jobs market is but one of the ripples created by the pending closure of NUMMI, the auto manufacturing plant that's closing up shop after first GM and now Toyota are pulling out.

It's economics from the companies' standpoint, and the workers I've talked to understand that perspective. But many workers also feel like legislators did less-than-exemplary jobs of trying to change those companies' minds. (To me, "betrayed" is not a mild word).

And this is going to get worse before it gets better — the Kyoho announcement won't be the last round of job losses spurred by the NUMMI closure.