Bloomington GE plant to close, lay off over 300 employees
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – The Bloomington General Electric refrigerator plant will soon close their doors and eliminate over 300 workers, according to IBEW Local 2249.
President William Fairbairn confirmed the news to 24-Hour News 8 on Thursday. He said the last day of production at the GE plant is set for Aug. 26. That date is much sooner than many anticipated, but Fairbairn said they were able to reach a deal with GE that workers are happy with.
The IBEW represents 301 employees at the plant. Fairbairn says they will receive 90 percent of their weekly pay through June 15, 2017 even though they will no longer be working in the plant. He says after that 95 percent of the IBEW represented workforce will be eligible to retire.
“This is unprecedented when it comes to GE. There’s never been an agreement like this, so the committee ourselves and all the folks involved are really happy,” Fairbairn said.
This announcement comes after the plant announced it would close back in June. However, GE was still in negotiations with IBEW. GE said the reasoning was demand for the side-by-side refrigerators manufactured at the plant that has fallen by 76 percent since 2008.
According to Fairbairn, GE lost $23 million in 2015 and they were projected to lose $25 million this year.