Bucyrus lamp plant will close in late September, company announces

GE Lighting, a Savant Company, has notified the city it intends to close its Bucyrus plant at the end of September.

Mayor Jeff Reser confirmed Thursday the city received a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notification in late July.

"It's sad," he said. "When they announced the closure earlier in the year, it was a rough day. ... The long, storied history of General Electric in Bucyrus is coming to an end, so it's not a happy day."

The WARN letter states both the Bucyrus plant, 1250 S. Walnut St., and another plant in Logan will close, affecting a combined 209 employees. When the closure plan was announced earlier this year, a company spokesman said 174 people were working at the Bucyrus plant.

The positions will be permanently eliminated "beginning on or about Sept. 30," with about 159 employees released on that date, the letter states. Of the remaining positions, 34 are expected to be eliminated by Dec. 31 and the remainder by July 31.

Ben Sabol, director of communications for GE Lighting, a Savant Company, confirmed the company plans to close the plant at the end of September.

"The vast majority of positions will officially be eliminated on the day of shutdown," Sabol said. "However, some will remain to help facilitate final closure activities."

City officials have been working on bringing other jobs to the community, Reser said.

"There are job openings in the community, so we hope everyone finds a job," he said. "It's a sad day. We feel for the people who work there."

He also thanked the company for being a good employer for many years.

"It will be a financial hit for the City of Bucyrus' general fund for the rest of the year and next year, so we're working to plug those holes as best we can," the mayor said.

'Double-digit decline in demand'

The company announced its plan to shut down the plant in March, citing a "double-digit decline in demand" for linear fluorescent lamps produced by the plant. "The other technology manufactured, energy efficient halogen, has already been regulated off the market by California and Nevada," Sabol said at the time.

Savant Systems Inc., purchased the Bucyrus plant, along with GE facilities in Cleveland and Logan and a distribution center in Canada, in the first half of 2020. It shut down production of A-19 LED bulbs at the plant in March 2021, sending that line to China.

Union workers at the plant are represented by IUE-CWA Local 84704. In a news release Thursday, the IUE-CWA union blasted the move.

"IUE-CWA is raising the alarm that GE stakeholders should be prepared for more cuts like this if the company moves forward with its $2.5 billion plan to break itself up, instead of investing in its domestic workforce," the news release states.

'American-made GE light bulbs will now be extinct'

“GE Lighting workers losing their jobs have been betrayed by the company they served for generations," IUE-CWA National President Carl Kennebrew said. "American-made GE light bulbs will now be extinct as executives offshore jobs to increase profit margins. The only American thing about these light bulbs will be the GE name on the label the company still profits from. We hold GE responsible for the destruction of these jobs and America’s lighting industry.

"As the nation’s largest union for GE workers, IUE-CWA is demanding that as part of its split, GE make an ironclad commitment to invest in and expand its U.S. workforce vital to the company’s long-term success, and provide assurances regarding job security, pay, and benefits of its workers."

ggoble@gannett.com

419-559-7263

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus lamp plant will close at the end of September, company warns