On Jan. 4, 2009, Leviton closed its light switch factory in rural Ashe County, N.C., moving some of its production to Mexico. The plant was one of 63 factories to shut down in North Carolina that year. Four years later, many of its 211 employees have found work, some after long stretches of unemployment. Dozens went back to community college to learn new skills, helped by Trade Adjustment Assistance, a federal program that pays to retrain workers whose jobs are shipped overseas. Most are earning less money.
