GE to Cut 1,000 Jobs in New York, South Carolina

October 21, 2003

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) _ GE Power Systems said Tuesday it will cut 400 jobs over the next six to nine months from its turbine production facility here due to a decline in domestic demand for power generation equipment.

The Atlanta-based company, a primary business unit of the General Electric Co., also will lay off 600 workers from its Greenville, S.C., plant.

"As expected, the ramp-down of our turbine shipments is continuing after several years of unprecedented demand in the U.S.," said Mark Little, vice president of the company's Energy Products division.

Shipments of steam turbines produced at the Schenectady plant were down 50 percent this year compared to last year and are expected to fall by 15 percent in 2004. Meanwhile, the volume of generator shipments fell 58 percent this year.

Last July, GE downsized 2,000 employees from its turbine facilities in Schenectady and Greenville because of a drop-off in orders for electricity producing turbines.

GE expects the latest layoffs in Schenectady, which affects 250 hourly and 150 salaried workers, will be achieved through voluntary retirements, leaving about 3,200 employees.

A call to Local 301 of the International Union of Electrical Radio and Machine Workers was not immediately returned Tuesday.

In the last few years, GE Power Systems entered new power generation markets such as wind power. In 2001, it moved its headquarters from Schenectady to Atlanta, taking about 50 high-level executives south.

The company had employed nearly 40,000 in Schenectady during World War II.

GE Power Systems, which employs 34,000 worldwide, is a leading supplier of power generation technology, energy services and management systems with 2002 revenues of more than $23 billion.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--gelayoffs-upstate1021oct21,0,1362686.story