It was equally anticipated given the recent signs that the economy may be slipping into recession, signs that include poor job growth and a pull back in manufacturing output.
Alexon's move to pull out of manufacturing in Wales is the latest in a number of factory closures and cutbacks to have hit the Welsh economy during the past year.
Second, smaller foreign investors began to pull back as they realized that manufacturing in China substantially increased the risk of loss of their intellectual property.
As states work to balance budgets and Midwestern states host political battles that hold the fates of union benefits for manufacturing and state employees, labor is seeing a troubled push and pull between workers who are struggling to match their wages with what the economy needs from them in terms of consumption.