The Downside Of Efficiency

EDEN, North Carolina—There aren't many job opportunities in this small town set in a rural pocket in the northern part of the state. But for decades, the MillerCoors brewery provided well-paying, union jobs for people like Steve Money, 50, who worked at the plant for 22 years handling industrial refrigeration. He made about $32 an hour, and the plant prospered too. The plant was named MillerCoors' Brewery of the Year multiple years in a row, producing around 7.1 million barrels of beer a year.