Sony Closing Westmoreland TV Plant; Hundreds Of Jobs LostCompany Cutting Electronics Jobs WorldwidePOSTED: 1:02 pm EST December 9,
2008 WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. -- Sony will shut down its flat-screen television plant in East Huntingdon and Hempfield as part of a company-wide downsizing that will cut 8,000 jobs. Video:  Watch Marcie Cipriani's Report Employees at Sony Technology Center-Pittsburgh were notified that they would be losing their jobs at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon."All production of televisions will be stopped," one employee told Channel 4 Action News."They said they're phasing out some areas of the building sooner than others," technician Tim Myers said.The plant has gone through several years of change and different attempts to survive since it opened in 1992."I went through when CRT closed, then I was moved to the LCD section, and now I'm going through it all again," Myers said.Just four months ago, the plant reported high demand for Sony's LCD models. Tuesday's news was an unexpected blow."I'm surprised, disappointed, but the handwriting's on the wall for a lot of American workers," said Frank Schollaert, of New Stanton.The plant employs 790 people in what used to be a Volkswagen production facility. It is Sony's only northeastern plant in the United States.Gov. Ed Rendell said the state will offer retraining and job placement services to local Sony employees who are losing their jobs."I've turned down jobs because I wanted to hang it out here. This place has been good to me, but got to move on," Myers said.
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