GE Transportation touts Pa. economic impact
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefErie, Pa.-based GE Transportation has publicized results of a study it commissioned to evaluate its value to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – and finds its activities are valuable to the state.
GE Transportation commissioned Pittsburgh-based research firm Tripp Umbach last year to produce a 20-page report, “Powering Pennsylvania: GE Transportation’s Impact on the Economy and Community-at-Large in Northwestern Pennsylvania.”
Among the report’s findings: GE Transportation supports one out of 11 jobs in Erie County, Pa.; every GE job supports close to three additional jobs in Pennsylvania; the company has a total economic impact of $2.7 billion on Erie County, and $4.6 billion on Pennsylvania; and GE Transportation generates one dollar in every $130 in the state’s economy—making it “one of the largest industrial companies in the Commonwealth,” Tripp Umbach President and CEO Paul Umbach said.
GE Transportation’s annual economic impact on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is larger than all Pennsylvania-based professional sports teams ($1.37 billion) and the state’s mining, oil, and gas extraction industries ($1.79 billion) combined,” Umbach asserted.
Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of GE Transportation, said, “This report puts the numbers behind what we know as a community, that GE Transportation is a vital part of Northwestern Pennsylvania, and that the community counts on our leadership. We stay committed to both Erie and the region as we grow our business right here.”
GE Transportation has hired approximately 1,000 production workers in Erie since late 2010, the company says.
An electronic copy of the study is available at www.getransportation.com/community.
GE Transportation is a subsidiary of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co.
