Greater Cleveland Finally Gets Some Good Economic News

Communities across the country have been waiting to hear the Defense Department's latest decisions about DOD base and other facility closures.

Greater Cleveland officials were jubilant to hear that the Defense Finance (DFAS) Office, long a part of the local economy, will remain in place, retaining 1,000 existing jobs and hopefully attracting 500 new ones. Local economic development leaders worked very hard on this one. My congratulations to all who helped make this a reality.

On a sad note, the Mansfield area, just south of Greater Cleveland, will lose 1,000 jobs with the closing of its Air National Guard facility. On balance, it appears the NE Ohio region has broken even in the race to retain DOD-related jobs.

The DFAS office news is especially welcome in light of the long string of closures and relocations announced in the area over the past couple years. Not the least of which was the recent decision by Office Max to move its headquarters to the Chicago area.