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Job cuts
Definitely now: GE cuts 375 jobs in Oberentfelden – “Anger over failed corporate policy”
375 jobs are lost at GE’s Oberentfelden plant. 140 jobs are preserved. The US group General Electrics has not reported (yet) voluntarily. The unions and the governing council are responding to this.
GE General Electric offices and factory in Oberentfelden (formerly Sprecher + Schuh)
On Monday morning, General Electrics (GE) brought the bad news to the social partners: 375 jobs will definitely be cut at the Oberentfelden plant. AZ learned this from reliable sources. GE itself has yet to send out a press release.
The reduction of the 375 jobs is the result of the consultation process, which has now been completed. In September 2020, GE announced that it was shutting down the Oberentfelden site. This affects 436 permanent employees. There are also 126 temporary employees. This announcement also sparked outrage in the Aargau government. GE had previously promised not to cut the positions at Oberentfelden but to move them to the Birr site. But GE came out of it.
So now there are 375 positions that have been eliminated. The Syna union considers the fact that not everyone is dismantled at Oberentfelden is a partial success. According to Syna, almost 120 jobs will be maintained in Oberentfelden and around 20 of the 84 threatened jobs in Baden can be saved. In a message he wrote at lunchtime Monday:
“Thanks to the great commitment of employees and staff representatives, around 140 positions can be retained. Yet anger over GE’s completely wrong business policy and disdain for the staff persist. “
In addition to the social plan, which will benefit those laid off, according to Syna, new cushioning measures are being discussed in the face of the extremely difficult situation in the labor market due to the pandemic.
Staff representatives and employee organizations require GE to “the group provide terminated employees with adequate protection and support them in their search for employment.”
Governing Council: “A bitter loss for Aargau as a business location”
The Aargau governing council also regrets the job cuts at GE, as it writes in a message. He was disappointed that the announced job cuts were not reduced further despite the best efforts of the negotiating team. Once again, important industrial jobs for Aargau would move overseas.
These large job cuts are a bitter loss and another setback for Aargau as a business location, it continues. The governing council expects GE to keep its many previous promises and invest in pioneering technologies at the Oberentfelden and Birr locations. “I am very sorry for this huge loss of jobs,” said Government Councilor Dieter Egli, head of the Department of the Economy and Home Affairs. It is positive that General Electric is staying at the Oberentfelden site, says Egli. Among other things, a global competence center for modules for wind power plants will be established there and excellent on-site technical know-how will be further developed. Egli also clearly says:
“I ask GE to keep the Oberentfelden and Birr locations, where committed employees work, and to expand them in the medium term.”
It notes that GE wants to fulfill its social responsibility as an employer, the governing council said. He expects GE to do everything in its power to avoid cases of social hardship and that generous solutions will be found in individual cases. The primary goal should be to find new jobs for as many employees as possible affected by the downsizing. To do this, the Office of the Economy and Labor is in close contact with those responsible for GE and will support the employees affected by the job cuts.
SP Aargau: “Irresponsible behavior and mindless action”
SP Aargau reacts outraged to job cuts. In a communication, he asks GE to finally take responsibility. Gabriela Suter, president of SP Canton Aargau, explains: “It is GE’s responsibility to support these people in the transition phase to a new job with a social plan and other cushioning measures.” The SP also calls on politicians to act. A long-term location and industrial policy is needed from both the federal and cantonal governments.
