After lobbying Washington to illegalize incandescent light bulbs, General Electric has closed all US plants producing incandescent bulbs and opened factories in China to manufacture florescent bulbs. Fluorescent bulbs are touted as more energy efficient, but manufacturing them is more labor intensive. Labor costs are cheaper in China than the US.
Part of the legislation to eliminate incandescent bulbs will go into effect in 2012, and the bulbs will be banned in the US completely in 2014.
GE closed their last incandescent plant in Winchester, Virginia in September 2010. Workers interviewed outside the plant expressed that they thought GE’s actions were based on cheaper labor, not green policies, reported Business Insider Green Sheet. They spoke of the dangers of mercury content in fluorescent bulbs.
The Times of London reports that large numbers of Chinese workers are suffering with mercury poisoning. China has lower wages for workers and fewer regulations on labor and the environment.
Just before GE began lobbying for incandescent bulbs to be illegalized, they announced the company would start manufacturing high-efficiency incandescent bulbs by the year 2010. The GE plant closing in Virginia cost 200 workers’ jobs. Two other plants, in Ohio and Kentucky, cost another 200 jobs.
Workers said GE’s actions were to gain favor with environmentalists and also to be able to charge more for their light bulbs.
GE announced more green plans in China January 2011. Plans include locomotives, clean coal technology, avionics and power turbines. GE said some products will come from US suppliers, reported Bloomberg. GE’s sales in China are rising about 20% annually and are expected to grow much higher in 2011.
GE’s rail division in Erie, Pennsylvania could see 2,000 new jobs from these projects. The projects may preserve American jobs that were in danger due to the suffering economy.