GE to close Ohio plant

GE plans to shut down its light-bulb plant in Circleville, Ohio, citing a drop in product sales.

The plant, which had more than 200 employees two years ago, is scheduled to wind down operations over the next year and close in August 2017, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

This is part of a larger restructuring for the lighting division of General Electric, which also will lead to some job losses in Bucyrus, although that plant will remain open.

“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,” said spokeswoman Alicia Gauer, in an e-mail. “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, volume is down dramatically at the Circleville Lamp Plant, and the facility is operating 90 percent below capacity.”