General Electric to eliminate 31 positions at Ohio Lamp Plant

By Don Shilling

The latest layoffs push GE’s total job cuts this year to 174.

WARREN — General Electric continues to slash jobs in the Mahoning Valley as it eliminates 31 positions at its Ohio Lamp Plant.

The Warren plant makes a variety of incandescent bulbs, which are becoming less popular.

“The whole industry is down as people move toward energy-efficient lighting products,” said Janice Fraser, a GE spokeswoman.

Incandescent bulbs increasingly are being replaced by compact fluorescent light bulbs or CFLs, which are made overseas.

So far this year, GE has cut or announced the elimination of 174 jobs in the Mahoning Valley. It will have about 430 local workers after the cuts.

Fraser said a slowing economy is partly to blame for job reductions, but the rising sales of CFLs has been a major reason why production at local plants is being cut.

Fraser said GE examined domestic production of CFLs in 2006 but decided it would be too expensive. The cost of retrofitting a plant in order to make the bulbs, plus the cost of operation, would have made the bulbs too expensive, she said. GE would have lost the market to competitors, who also have production overseas, she said.

The Ohio Lamp Plant has 351 hourly and 11 salaried workers. As for the future of the plant, Fraser said management is telling workers that they must continue to take steps to be more efficient so the plant can be as competitive as possible.

She noted that GE is researching high-efficiency incandescent bulbs. They aren’t ready for production yet so GE hasn’t decided where they might be produced, she said.

The cutbacks at Ohio Lamp Plant begin Monday when 16 jobs will be cut. Fifteen more will be eliminated June 30.

Fraser said layoffs could be avoided if enough workers take a retirement incentive that GE offers when it makes cutbacks. The offer allows workers to receive their full pension and health care benefits and receive $16,000.

The Ohio Lamp Plant produces spotlights and floodlights as well as smaller indoor bulbs.

GE also has a plant in Niles that produces pressed glass for the Warren plant and other factories. The Niles plant employs nearly 100. Another Niles plant closed recently, and one in Austintown is to close later this year.

shilling@vindy.com