The Bloomington GE plant is closing, which will cost 329 Hoosiers their jobs, according to a company press release.
The refrigeration plant is closing due to a sharply decreased consumer demand in the area, according to the release, and the plant was only scheduled to run for about 22 weeks this year.
Demand for Bloomington-manufactured refrigerators has declined 76 percent since 2008.
Ninety-four percent of the employees at Bloomington Production Operations LLC will be eligible for retirement if the proposal becomes final. For those who aren’t, the GE company plans to provide severance pay, retraining assistance, job placement assistance, preferential hire rights at other GE plants and medical benefits through the transition.
The majority of employees at the Bloomington refrigeration plant are paid hourly, with only 28 salaried employees, according to the release.
The plant isn’t closed yet, but GE Appliances has announced and proposed an intent to phase out refrigeration design and production at the Bloomington location.
The company’s proposal is subject to Union-Company discussions, according to the release, and those discussions are expected to begin immediately this week.
“This proposal in no way is a reflection of the quality of this workforce, which is excellent,” Frank Scheffel, BPO general manager of operations, said in the release. “The unfortunate reality that we’ve lived with for a very long time is that fewer consumers want to buy the products we make here.”
If the proposal is pushed through and the plant employees are laid off, GE explained in its press release all affected employees will be receiving a comprehensive benefits package.
Severance pay will be based on the length of service at the Bloomington plant.
Though hundreds would lose their jobs, GE points out in its press release that since 2008, 450 employees have made it through to retirement.
The company has worked to keep the Bloomington plant open and viable for the long term before, the release states, including reversing a proposal to close the plant in 2008.
“This announcement is very hard to make,” Scheffel said. “This plant has been through a lot of ups and downs over the years, and our employees have always done everything we have asked of them. We have an excellent team.”
Anicka Slachta
