GE Fanuc lays off approximately 50
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a company headquartered in Albemarle County, has laid off around 50 employees.
A company spokeswoman declined Thursday to give the exact number or provide further details.
“There’s around 50 layoffs, but we’re not confirming any specific number,” said Elli Holman, a GE Fanuc spokeswoman.
The company is a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Japan’s Fanuc LTD, a firm that specializes in automation and robotics. It produces hardware and software for manufacturing companies.
GE Fanuc is Albemarle County’s third-largest private employer with an estimated 800 to 1,000 workers, according to the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development.
The layoffs are the latest to hit Charlottesville-area workers. As of October, the Charlottesville region had lost 1,000 jobs during the preceding year — marking the worst job growth performance of all Virginia’s nine metropolitan areas.
Still, the area’s unemployment rate of 3.8 percent in November was lower than the state and national average. In the state, only Northern Virginia had a lower unemployment rate.
According to Virginia Employment Commission officials, the low unemployment rate may indicate that residents of counties outside the official Charlottesville metropolitan area may have held many of the lost local jobs. The Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area includes the city and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson.
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Hopefully some of those who were caught up in this layoff will benefit from this. There is a company in Greensboro, NC called Electrical South (owned by Schneider Electric) that is hiring people with industrial products backgrounds, like Automated Test Engineers and Electronic Technicians. You can apply at www.elsouth.com. I know they have three Engineering openings and 8 new Electronic Technician openings. They apparently are overloaded at the NC facility and so have a big need for people. They are even offering relocation packages for the Engineers.
Apply at: www.elsouth.com/corporate/employment.aspx
Virginia Career Network is a series of free networking events for job seekers. Each series provides coaching, support and knowledge. Each features outside speakers. Organizers are all area volunteers with a desire to help many who have been laid off from Virginia companies.
Currently, there is a weekly event in Charlottesville another in downtown Richmond and a third in Southside Richmond.
All are sharing leads among organizers and participants. There is a lot of positive activity and support as well. See for yourself though. Join through http://www.meetup.com/Virginia-Career-Network and see what people are saying about past events. Check out the calendar for events in Charlottesville, and around Richmond.
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