despite the layoffs and plant closings that have eliminated thousands of jobs over the past two years, the louisiana chemical industry faces a looming shortage of process operators and is hiring new ones as fast as it can. the average age of an effective plant operator is 50. a wave of retirements among these highly qualified and experienced operators in coming years will create openings for as many as 10,000 operators in the chemical industry. the retirement of the current operators is an example of: