GE Lighting: May cease production of LED light bulbs at a U.S. factory to expand its smart home product lineup under a new brand

According to foreign media reports, GE Lighting, under Savant Systems, plans to cease production of A-19 LED light bulbs at its Bucyrus, Ohio plant this March, and may lay off 81 workers depending on the outcome of union negotiations.

In a letter to state and local officials, the company stated that GE Lighting notified affected workers, represented by the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers - Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) Local 84704, of its intention to cease production of the A-19 line.

Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), companies anticipating large-scale layoffs must submit a notice letter to the state government.

This May, GE sold its GE Lighting division in East Cleveland to Savant Systems Inc., a smart home technology company based in Massachusetts.

The company stated in the letter that, under the collective bargaining agreement with GE, the IUE-CWA may request a 30-day negotiation period related to layoffs. Tibor Voros, Chief Human Resources Officer of GE Lighting, wrote in the letter: "If negotiations regarding the decision are unsuccessful, operations for the LED A-19 will cease around March 6, 2020, and Savant will terminate 81 full-time employees on that date."

GE Lighting previously stated in an email: "We will not discontinue the LED A-19 as part of our product portfolio."

The company stated: "Currently, this is intended to shift work and is subject to collective bargaining with the union." "There is a possibility that assembly work will remain in Bucyrus." "If the final decision is to relocate, we will rely on our business continuity plan."

Paul Williams, General Manager of Product Management and Growth at GE Lighting, stated in a recent unrelated interview that producing light bulbs remains an important part of the GE Lighting business, but the acquisition of Savant has also made GE Lighting a consumer-facing smart home technology company.

He said that GE Lighting still operates several distribution centers in the United States, as well as a manufacturing plant in Loga, Ohio.

In other news, GE Lighting, which was acquired by Savant last year, will launch the new Cync brand in 2021, expanding its smart home device lineup beyond smart light bulbs to include smart indoor cameras, smart fan switches, outdoor smart plugs, and more. The company describes this as a "significant move to maintain its leadership in the smart home sector."

GE Lighting launched the C by GE series a few years ago, including smart light bulbs and lighting products. However, in 2021, the company decided to expand its business scope from smart light bulbs to other products and rebranded as Cync.

It is reported that due to the ongoing outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first-ever virtual CES kicked off on January 11 (today). New Cync brand products are expected to make their debut at CES.

GE Lighting, under Savant, will update its existing app in March. The new version of the app will allow smart light bulb owners to adjust the color and luminance of room lighting by taking photos. It will also be able to control new Cync smart home products.