GE plant to lay off 735 as jobs head to Mexico

It's been expected since September.\nBut still, the news hit hard.\nGeneral Electric told 735 employees at its Bloomington refrigerator factory Thursday that they'll be laid off Dec. 15. To meet with more stringent energy-efficiency standards effective next July, GE is downsizing and shipping 1,400 jobs to Mexico, where wages are lower.\nAll workers at the plant with less than 10 years seniority are on the layoff short list.\nGE, the largest manufacturer in Monroe County, announced in mid-October that it might give out as many as 870 pink slips by the end of the year. Normal attrition cut down on the number of layoffs, a spokesman said.\n"We haven't replaced those workers that have gone into early retirement or transferred to other plants," said Terry Dunn, a spokesman for GE's appliance division. "We understand how hard this is. And we want to do everything we can to show our commitment to the workforce and the people."\nThe severance packages include a week's pay for each year of service and a year's worth of medical benefits. GE is also preferentially hiring workers at its other plants and paying for job training, Dunn said.\n"We're not talking about jobs," Dunn said. "We're talking about real people, and we're very concerned. We're taking this very seriously."\nAbout 250 of those laid off, Dunn added, were temporary workers hired to meet short-term production goals.\n"Ultimately, we're talking about fewer than 500 longer-service employees," he said. "We hired these workers after the announcement, and they knew what to expect."\nAfter negotiations with the labor union and the city failed, GE announced Dec. 10 it would eliminate 1,400 jobs. Still, the company said it would invest $100 million in the plant to enable it to continue making side-by-side refrigerators.\n"All of the equipment in the plant will be obsolete under the new energy standards," Dunn said. "We're making a very serious investment to preserve the factory, to preserve 1,800 jobs." \nWhile the side-by-side refrigerators will still be made in Bloomington, the lower-volume models will be made in Celaya, Mexico. The plant is already up and running and doing test production runs. To complete the transition, about 500 to 600 more jobs will be eliminated before June, Dunn said.\nSteve Norman, president of Local 2249 of the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, bristles at the business decision.\n"This plant has always been profitable," he said. "And it will continue to be profitable. This is just an instance of corporate greed."\nBut Norman's hands are tied. The union's members denied him authorization to strike in a close vote this May. \nGE's cutbacks are only the latest blow to the county's manufacturing base. Otis Elevator and Thomson Consumer Electronics have laid off thousands in the last few years.\n"We have low unemployment and many job opportunities," said Nathan Hadley, executive director of economic development for the city. "But with all the layoffs in traditional manufacturing we have to realize that the economy is undergoing a transition"