SALISBURY — General Electric Company (GE) is considering closing its Salisbury plant next year, impacting 112 employees, a company representative confirmed today.
“Please note this decision is not yet finalized and the earliest any final decision would be implemented would be in May 2013,” wrote Gia L. Oei, global communications leader for GE Energy, in an email.
Over the next 60 days, Oei said, the company will meet with impacted employees to talk about the announcement and any “proposals or alternatives that they present to us.”
Oei said in a brief telephone interview that employees found out about the proposal last Thursday. The company will weigh all of the options, she said, before making its choice.
If the plan moves forward, GE would consolidate its North Carolina equipment manufacturing operations at its larger plant in Mebane. Its Salisbury facility, which makes low-voltage lighting panels, would be shut down.
Oei said that “increased costs, a changing market and a difficult economic environment” have lowered production at the Salisbury plant on Old Concord Road.
She said it’s not clear yet how many of the 112 employees would be laid off or whether some could continue their work in Mebane.
“GE is committed to providing comprehensive benefits, severance income and job placement aid to assist impacted employees through this transition,” Oei wrote. “To the extent possible, we will also work closely with these individuals to explore job opportunities within GE.”