There’s a lot going on in this merger and a thorough reading of the press announcement and the slide presentation is necessary to understand how it will affect GE Transportation going forward. More to the point, how will it affect the GE Transportation plant in Erie, PA? The new combined company will have a much […]
Wabtec and GE Transportation to Merge
GE and Wabtec have announced an agreement to merge which will make Wabtec a Fortune 500 company. How this will affect the Erie GE plant will be determined as the merger is implemented. Following the transaction, Wabtec will have approximately $8 billion in revenues, a more diversified business mix, higher margins, and approximately 15 percent […]
GE Power Cuts 12000 Jobs as the Global Company Tries to Regain its Footing
GE Transportation isn’t the only division of the global company having serious issues. GE Power just announced a reduction of 12,000 jobs, about 18 percent of its workforce. The company blames the downsizing on the decreasing demand for coal and fossil fuels caused by increases in alternative energy. Also contributing to the problem was GE’s […]
Erie’s Problems Are Not Unique – Eds and Meds Can’t Solve Them
Observing Erie now while remembering what it once was is frustrating, a population in decline, manufacturing jobs lost and a future somewhat in doubt. Over the past year or so, we’ve seen multiple plans to bring about a revival, some better than others, but getting from here to there is a pretty steep climb. An […]
Shinola is Creating Jobs in an Old Manufacturing City, Could This Work in Erie?
Detroit, Michigan has suffered a massive decline from those years of automotive dominance and prosperity, but they’re building things again in smaller companies and creating hundreds of jobs in the process. Shinola may be an example of the kind of thinking we could apply in Erie County to rebuild our reputation for producing high quality […]
GE Earnings Call Paints Bleak Picture for Transportation
During the earnings call on July 21st, Jeff Bornstein, General Electric Company, Vice Chairman laid out the situation for GE Transportation and it explains why major changes are necessary: On Transportation, North American carload volume continues to improve off a low base. Carload volume grew 7.3% in the quarter, driven by Intermodal higher by 5.6% […]
