EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Spanish wind turbine company Gamesa says it won't lay off any of its 300 workers at a western Pennsylvania plant, even though the facility will close in "fits and spurts" later this summer for retooling and worker retraining.
The 12-year-old plant is being upgraded so workers there can make larger, lighter wind turbine blades. The plant is near Ebensburg, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh.
The retooling and retraining process will begin next month and is being paid for with a $300,000 employee training grant and $3.5 million in company funds.
In January, Gamesa announced plans to lay off 180 of 720 workers at its eastern Pennsylvania plant in Fairless Hills, Bucks County, because that facility was not capable of making the larger blades.