GE to Cut 12,000 Jobs in Its Power Business

[DonViejo]

Source: Bloomberg




By Rick Clough
December 7, 2017, 6:09 AM EST Updated on December 7, 2017, 8:34 AM EST

General Electric Co. plans to cut 12,000 jobs in its power business as the company’s new leaders look to slash costs and stabilize the beleaguered manufacturer.

The reductions, accounting for about 18 percent of GE Power’s workforce, include both professional and production employees, the company said Thursday in a statement. The world’s largest maker of gas turbines said the unit needs to become leaner as customers turn away from fossil fuel-based energy sources.

“This decision was painful but necessary for GE Power to respond to the disruption in the power market,” division chief Russell Stokes said in the statement. “Power will remain a work in progress in 2018. We expect market challenges to continue, but this plan will position us for 2019 and beyond.”

The moves, coming as GE also reassesses spending in areas such as research and development, add to a flurry of cost cuts by Chief Executive Officer John Flannery, who has already scaled back use of corporate jets and delayed work on a new Boston headquarters since taking the reins in August. GE said last month it would pare the quarterly dividend and sell some businesses.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-07/ge-is-said-to-plan-12-000-job-cuts-as-new-ceo-revamps-power-unit

[Thor_MN]

1. And the Trump economy starts... nt.

[democratisphere]

2. GE should have focused on the business of POWER instead of trying

to be a f'ing bankster.

[FakeNoose]

4. The gas turbine business is in a tailspin

There aren't enough customers left to keep this industry going at the current pace. Westinghouse has already declared bankruptcy earlier this year and GE has seen that their future is bleak. Third-world countries don't have the $ multiple millions it takes to finance these large projects, and the turbine building projects can take up to 10 years to complete. Countries that don't already have a steady supply of natural gas cannot consider investing in a gas turbine installation when other needs are immediate and dire. The alternative, renewable energy generators such as wind farms and solar energy generators are seen as less cost and more environmentally friendly than the gas turbine generators.

[IronLionZion]

3. "needs to become leaner as customers turn away from fossil fuel-based energy sources"

“Traditional power markets including gas and coal have softened and volumes are down significantly.”

Renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar are likely to grab a bigger share of the market in the coming decades, generating more electricity than coal by 2040, the International Energy Agency said last month. Renewables will reap about two-thirds of $11.3 trillion in investment likely to flow to power plants over the period, the IEA said.

GE has been hit hard by weakening demand for new gas-fired electricity generators as the costs of renewables slide. Competitors such as Siemens AG are contending with similar pressures. The Munich-based company last month announced a plan to eliminate about 6,900 positions worldwide and close factories, amid a sharp drop in orders for power-plant equipment.

Trump promised fossil fuel workers he would rescue the industry from those evil job killing liberals. He was either lying to them or he clearly doesn't understand the free market forces at work here.

[RobinA]

5. No Worries

They can all go get those coal mining jobs Trump is bringing back.