Thursday, September 25, 2008

Whatman plant closing, 225 jobs to be lost

By DINA MENDROS
Staff Writer

SANFORD — Employees of the Whatman plant, a subsidiary of GE Healthcare and one of the largest employers here, were told on Wednesday that the facility will close by the end of the year, resulting in the loss of 225 jobs.

According to GE Healthcare, the plant, which manufactures medical testing devices among other items, is closing as part of an overall restructuring plan.

The plant will “undergo a phased reduction in activity” before it closes fully next year, according to a company statement.

The decision to close the Sanford plant was part of the Whatman plan before GE Healthcare acquired the company in April, said GE spokesman Arvind Gopalratnam.

Some employees may be offered a transfer to another GE Healthcare site as various activities of the Sanford plant move to other locations.

Some activities will move to a site in Westborough, Mass. Some will move overseas.

GE will offer outplacement support to all affected employees, said Gopalratnam.

Two plants in the United Kingdom are being affected by the restructuring, according to an e-mail from Gopalratnam. One will refocus is production, the other will also being closing by the end of 2009 and lead to a loss of 130 jobs.

What is happening in Sanford is taking place all over the country, said Sanford’s Economic Affairs Director Les Stevens. “It is part of a huge, macro, international issue.”

The closure doesn’t come as a surprise, said Stevens.

“We’ve known about this for sometime,” he said.

Stevens said that when the Sanford plant was acquired by GE, local management thought there was a risk that GE should shut it down.

Because of the advance notice, he said, there is time to assist the local workforce with retraining or finding other employment before they lose their positions.

He said Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner John Richardson will be involved with helping the town and the workers with this significant job loss.

A meeting between local management and state and local officials has been set for Friday. Stevens said the group would appeal to GE Healthcare’s management to see if through tax or other incentives the company may reconsider closing.

Barring that, discussion would include whether another company could be enticed to set up shop at the vacating plant “to take advantage of a skilled workforce and a great building” and retraining the workforce, said Stevens\

— Contact Dina Mendros by calling 282-1535, Ext. 324, or via e-mail at dmendros@gwi.net.