ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 19, 1997 TAG: 9704210054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL THE ROANOKE TIMES
The cuts are part of the company's attempt to trim "excess resources" from its operation.
Eleven salaried engineers and technicians at General Electric Co.'s Industrial Systems plant in Salem have been laid off, the company confirmed Friday. The action results from the need to trim operations in the face of competition.
The affected employees were told Thursday. Some cuts will take effect at the end of May, the remainder at the end of June, GE spokesman Mike Allee said Friday. GE isn't sure yet how many actually will leave, he said; the company is looking for other job openings within the Salem plant.
Employees will receive medical and life insurance coverage for up to a year, plus financial assistance based on length of service.
Over the last six months, 60 salaried positions at the Salem plant have been cut through attrition and what the company calls its "voluntary job elimination program." Another 90 hourly jobs have been lost on the production side, also a result of regular or early retirement, Allee said.
More than 900 hourly workers were idled for two weeks in January as the plant tried to balance production with customers' orders. As the shortage of production work continued, 167 workers were laid off indefinitely. But as the work load increased, that number was repeatedly cut. All workers, except those who opted for early retirement, have returned to work, Allee said.
No salaried workers were affected during either the shutdown or layoffs, because only the production end of the work cycle, rather than design, was slowed.
This week's round of cuts, however, is not related to a work shortage. These layoffs, Allee said, are based on GE's evaluation of changing skill requirements and are part of an attempt to trim "excess resources" from parts of the operation.
"We continue to face extremely intense competitive pressures in the marketplace," Allee said. While the voluntary job cuts will continue, he said, GE currently plans no additional layoffs.
The wife of an engineer, who asked not to be identified because she didn't want to hurt her husband's future with GE, said he had received no warning that he was losing his job.
"You usually hear through the grapevine if something's happening," she said. "We had no idea."
What bothers her the most, she said, is the rosy picture painted by the company's recently released annual report.
According to that report, the company's motors and industrial systems division saw double-digit growth in profits on modest revenue gains in 1996. The corporation's overall earnings rose from $6.57billion in 1995 to a record $7.28billion in 1996.
"But at what cost?" the woman said.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines KEYWORDS: JOBCHEKby CNB