Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 10, 1995                   TAG: 9508100046
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GE MAKES 37 JOB CUTS

However, many of those affected by the notices are being offered other jobs at GE, and a company spokesman said that in the end, only about a dozen people may leave involuntarily.

Last month, GE said it planned to eliminate 100 jobs from its nonunion, professional, technical and clerical work force. GE Vice President Russ Shade said the plant needed to cut its costs to ensure that it remains competitive in the global market for computerized industrial control and drive systems. The Salem plant produces automated controls for paper and steel mills and large manufacturing plants.

Since last month's announcement, enough employees have left the company voluntarily through early retirements and in other ways that GE needed to send out only 37 notices of job cuts, said company spokesman Mike Allee.

Some workers whose jobs are being eliminated will be offered other jobs within the business, Allee said. Those who leave the company will do so within the next two weeks to two months, he said.

Elimination of the 100 jobs will reduce the plant's work force to 1,100, a cut of 8 percent. The company has said no hourly production jobs, covered by a union wage agreement, will be cut at this time because of heavy workloads through the end of the year.

Shade has said that market trends toward alternating-current drive products and away from the direct current products traditionally made by GE is in part forcing the need for cost-cutting. GE's competitors are among the world's industrial giants, including Toshiba, Allen-Bradley and Siemens.