GE officials said Tuesday they are closing three Alstom plants in Chattanooga. GE cited the decision is necessary to allow GE to manage costs and capacity in what officials say is a very competitive market.
Alstom is on Riverfront Parkway and at one time employed hundreds of Chattanoogans.
Officials said 235 employees will be laid off. Closures are expected to begin later this year and continue until the end of the year. About 50 employees will remain.
GE acquired Alstom for $10.6 billion in 2015 while projecting there would be a move to clean nuclear energy plants.
Alstom had announced in 2007 that it was investing $200 million in the riverfront facility.
GE officials said, "Based on the current competitive marketplace, the challenges the power industry continues to face, and as part of the integration of GE and legacy Alstom assets, GE continues to review its operations, organizational structure, products and services to support its growth strategy and meet the needs of its customers.
"As a result, we’re announcing our plan to close three legacy Alstom facilities in Chattanooga; the Steam Turbine Manufacturing facility, the Boiler Service Center, and the Materials Technology Center. This planned action, while extremely difficult, is viewed as necessary to allow GE to manage costs and capacity in a very competitive market. We anticipate these announcements to impact approximately 235 employees across the three facilities. The closures are expected to begin later this year and continue through the end of 2016. We have approximately 50 Chattanooga employees in engineering, commercial and other functions who are not being impacted by this action.
"These are very difficult decisions and this plan is in no way a negative reflection of GE’s Chattanooga workforce. GE will provide comprehensive benefits to assist impacted employees through this transition, and the company is prepared to bargain with the local unions concerning the impact of this plan on represented employees, including subjects of severance pay and group insurance."