US firm General Electric plans to cut 1,100 jobs from its UK power infrastructure business as part of a Europe-wide cost-cutting exercise, blaming a fall in demand for new power stations and dwindling investment by its clients.
The job losses would affect staff in Rugby and Stafford, reducing GE’s 18,000-strong UK workforce by 6%. The company plans to cut 12,000 jobs globally.
“Today’s actions are driven by challenges in the power market worldwide,” GE said, adding that conditions in western European market have been particularly poor.
“To get back to competitiveness GE Power needs to remove cost substantially from its businesses.”
Mark Elborne, head of GE UK & Ireland, said: “These are not proposals we ever make lightly and we understand that this news will be difficult for many people. Unfortunately we believe that these changes are necessary to ensure that we can remain competitive and secure the future of GE Power in the UK.
“We have shared our proposals with employees’ representatives today and will now begin a consultation period before any final decisions are made.”
Elborne said GE remained committed to the UK and would remain one of the country’s top five industrial companies after the cuts.
