Power giant GE cutting 1,100 jobs in England

GE is proposing to cut 1,100 jobs from its UK power business under an organisational restructure, the firm announced.

The planned losses will mainly affect Stafford and Rugby in England, with the total potential losses representing around 6% of the company’s UK workforce. The firm has some staff employed in Northern Ireland.

GE said market conditions have had a “significant impact” on its economic performance, adding that demand for newbuild power plants had “dramatically” dropped in all OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.

A statement said: “Traditional utility customers have reduced their investments due to market deterioration and uncertainty about future climate policy measures.

“Today’s actions are driven by challenges in the power market worldwide. Traditional power markets including gas and coal have softened.

“Volumes are down significantly in products and services driven by overcapacity, lower utilisation, fewer outages, an increase in steam plant retirements, and overall growth in renewables. To get back to competitiveness GE Power needs to remove cost substantially from its businesses.”

Mark Elborne, GE’s president and chief executive UK & Ireland, said: “Regrettably, the proposed changes would have an impact on jobs in the UK.

“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.”