General Electric has come up with a date for
closing its Fort Edward operation.
The company announced in 2013 that operations
at the capacitor plant would eventually
cease.
The company told workers and union representatives
the facility will close Jan. 23.
General Electric announced it will move all
of the plant’s operations to Clearwater, Fla. A
spokesman said employees who have chosen not
to transfer can explore other career opportunities
within General Electric.
The company employs 9,000 people across
New York state and abut 7,000 of those jobs are
located in the Capital Region.
In October, GE announced it completed
dredging in New York’s Upper Hudson River.
Since 2009, GE has removed the majority of
PCBs from the Upper Hudson River, the company
said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has called the project an historic achievement
that protects the environment and human
health. GE said its crews removed more than
300,000 pounds of PCBs from the river – more
than twice the amount that was anticipated.
“Thirteen years ago, I committed GE to undertaking
an environmental dredging project
of a size, scope and complexity that had not
been attempted before,” said GE Chairman and
CEO Jeff Immelt. “Our goal was to perform this
work as safely and effectively as possible in full
compliance with the rigorous standards and
timetable set by EPA.”
Ann Klee, GE’s vice president of Global
Operations, Environment, Health and Safety,
said the project could not have been completed
“without the steadfast cooperation of local communities,
property owners and residents of the
Upper Hudson and our strong working relationship
with EPA, the New York State Department
of Environmental Conservation and the New
York State Canal Corporation.”
Dredging took place over a 40-mile stretch of
the Upper Hudson River between Fort Edward
and Troy. The work was performed 24 hours a
day, six days a week, for six months of the year
for six years, according to the company. GE
invested more than $1 billion to complete the
project. More than 500 people were employed.
GE also will continue the cleanups of its
Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, officials said.