ATLANTA - GE Power Systems said Tuesday it will eliminate 2,500 jobs in the next nine months, with further reductions coming in 2003, due to a reduction in demand for power generation equipment.<br>
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The Atlanta-based company said the initial reductions will come at turbine production facilities in Greenville, S.C., and Schenectady, N.Y., where each plant will eliminate 1,000 jobs.<br>
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The remaining 500 jobs will be cut at other undisclosed GE Power Systems locations and through some early retirements.<br>
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"We have always made it clear that, after several years of exceptional growth, our turbine business would at some point return to more normal order levels, and it is," said John Rice, company president and CEO.<br>
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The company said shipments of gas turbines are forecast to decline by 80 percent or more over the next two years.<br>
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GE Power Systems, which employs 36,500 worldwide, is a leading supplier of power generation technology, energy services and management systems with 2001 revenues of more than $20 billion.<br>
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