In a statement issued today, GE has announced that it will be closing the Mattoon Lamp Plant by the end of August 2017.
A media representative from GE said,”In the last decade, the lighting industry has seen a major technology pivot away from traditional lighting products including incandescent, halogen, and specialty linear fluorescent lamps. Consumer demand for traditional lighting is at an all-time low and that shift has been supported by the U.S. Government phasing out incandescent bulbs. As a result, the Mattoon Lamp Plant is operating at 60% below capacity.”
According to the same representative, GE will continue to focus on the development of LED technology. By 2020, the company predicts that more than 80 percent of all global lighting revenues will come from LED.
The closure of the Mattoon Plant is subject to what GE refers to as an “idea generation period” to offer alternatives to the plan.