GE Lighting to Close Illinois Factory

GE Lighting’s lamp factory in Mattoon, IL, will close Friday after 71 years of operation, according to a report from the local news site Mattoon Journal Gazette & Times Courier. GE told employees of the planned closure last October. The plant once had as many as 1,800 employees making lamps and components. After Friday 133 employees will remain onsite for about four months to clean, disconnect equipment and prepare the plant for possible future use, the paper reported. GE Lighting said 38 percent of the Mattoon plant employees are retirement eligible and will receive retirement benefits and preferential job placement at up to 12 GE locations.