TORONTO — About 550 employees at the Siemens Energy gas turbine plant in Hamilton are set to lose their jobs as the German industrial conglomerate relocates the facility to North Carolina.
The jobs will be eliminated over the next 12 to 18 months and the facility, which manufactures large-scale gas turbines and components used in their assembly and repair, will be closed in July 2011.
Siemens Canada energy sector vice-president Bill Smith said in an interview with The Canadian Press that the decision was strategic and is not a reflection of the performance of its Hamilton employees.
“Because of the great reputation that the employees and the workforce has here we were able to secure another 15 months out of the facility,” Smith said.
The company is relocating production from the Hamilton plant to a revamped unit in Charlotte, N.C., which will become a global production hub for a type of gas-powered turbine for electric utility plants.
“There’s a pretty significant Siemens campus there already in Charlotte,...” Smith said. “The generators are all manufactured in Charlotte now and its a large service centre, so it makes sense to twin them up.”
He added that 90 per cent of production at the Hamilton plant was exported, with more than 75 per cent going to the United States.
“Strategically, we wanted to combine engineering and procurement and total manufacturing for gas turbine machines closer to the customers, which are predominately located in the United States.”
Smith said some employees will be offered jobs in Charlotte, while others will be eligible for opportunities within Siemens Canada.