GE to cut 575 jobs at Pennsylvania plant, move work to Texas
by The Associated Press
The head of the workers' union in Erie called the move "union busting," while a GE executive said work has to be put at its most competitive location
ERIE, Pa.—GE Transportation plans to end most locomotive production at its century-old plant in northwestern Pennsylvania, eliminating about 575 jobs.
GoErie.com reports the work is being transferred by the end of 2018 to Fort Worth, Texas, where workers aren’t union members.
The Lawrence Park Township plant, just outside Erie, currently employs more than 2,500 workers. Locomotive prototypes will still be produced there.
Richard Simpson, a GE Transportation executive, says the company has to put work at its most competitive location, which doesn’t include Erie.
He says about 225 workers at the Fort Worth plant will be recalled and as many as 200 other jobs will be created elsewhere.
Scott Slawson, the president of the Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, calls the cuts “union busting” and says the company simply wants to pay the lowest wages possible.
