John Flannery, who took over the helm at General Electric (GE) from Jeffrey Immelt in August this year, wants to make GE more efficient. In line with that objective, the company intends to cut 12,000 jobs in its power division.
The near-20-percent job cut in the division that makes nuclear plant and electrical transmission components and steam turbines would contribute to a $3.5 billion cost-cutting exercise through the end of 2018.
GE is seeing revenue declines across its product portfolio that supports the coal and natural gas industries.
In a statement regarding the job cuts, GE Power CEO Russell Stokes said:
“This decision was painful but necessary for GE Power to respond to the disruption in the power market, which is driving significantly lower volumes in products and services. 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.”
As the world moves away from fossil fuels, expect related industries to undergo similar upheavals.
The move by GE just goes to show that no job is secure from technological advancement, no matter how old the industry or how established the company.
It’s going to be a sad Christmas for thousands of families of GE Power employees this year.
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