Schenectady

Hourly workers at General Electric's power systems plant in Schenectady and its research lab in Niskayuna received news that 130 of them will be laid off within the next two weeks, according to information shared at an "all-hands" meeting early Friday morning.

The layoffs affect various hourly worker job titles, from production to maintenance, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

But which workers will lose their jobs, and from which sites, must be sorted out based on seniority and according to the union contract rules. The workers are represented by IUE-CWA Local 301 in Schenectady.

"We are extremely disappointed by GE's recent announcement to lay off up to 130 of our hourly union members," Rob Macherone, the business agent for Local 301, said in a statement to the Times Union. "This will be devastating to both the members and their families impacted as well as the community.

"It is disheartening that despite our members' hard work and dedication, they have to pay such a steep price for GE's mismanagement while the ones responsible such as (former CEO Jeff) Immelt are rewarded with lucrative severance packages," Macherone added. "Our main focus right now is on supporting our members affected and continuing our efforts to preserve middle-class jobs."

Local 301 represents 800 factory workers in GE Power's large steam turbine plant at the Schenectady campus, which is home to GE Power's international operations.

It also represents a much smaller number of blue collar workers at GE Global Research in Niskayuna that are involved in maintenance, material handling and machining.

The layoffs do not affect scientists or researchers at the lab, and the total head count in Niskayuna will not change because any job that is impacted at the research campus will be refilled by the union.

The layoffs are part of a larger cost-cutting effort at GE Power, which until now had not cut hourly worker positions in Schenectady County as part of its downsizing.

"As announced last month, based on the current challenges in the power industry and a significant decline in orders, we plan to reduce our global headcount, affecting both professional and production employees," the company said in a statement provided by spokeswoman Katie Jackson. "As part of these actions, we are restructuring our production capacity in Schenectady. This action is difficult and does not reflect the performance, dedication, and hard work of our employees. GE will be providing a comprehensive severance package to impacted employees including transition support to new employment."

Friday's layoffs announcement comes a month after news that GE Power would seek to cut roughly 12,000 job worldwide — nearly one of every five positions at General Electric's largest division.

The job eliminations are primarily outside the United States and include jobs cut in 2017 as well as those that will be cut this year and next. In some cases, GE plans to shut entire locations, meaning the cuts won't be spread proportionally at each site.

The cuts announced in December are the deepest reported so far at the financially troubled company. GE seeks to reduce its overall corporate expenses by $3.5 billion through the end of this year.

GE Power is headquartered in Schenectady, where GE overall has 4,000 people at its River Road plant. The unit makes power plant equipment and also has a large steam turbines and generator factory at what used to be known as the Schenectady Works.