GE to close Canadian lightbulb factory

BOSTON, Aug 4 - General Electric Co said on Tuesday that it plans to cease manufacturing light bulbs at its Oakville, Ontario plant.

The plant currently employs about 160 people in manufacturing, who produce incandescent, fluorescent and halogen light bulbs. Their jobs will be phased out through August 2010, with the manufacturing functions shifting to other GE-owned as well as outsourced factories.

A separate warehouse and distribution center in Oakville will continue to operate. The company blamed the move on waning demand for traditional incandescent bulbs, which are losing market share to more energy-efficient light sources, such as compact-fluorescent fixtures.

The Oakville manufacturing site has been in operation since 1948, a GE spokeswoman said.

The largest U.S. conglomerate employs more than 300,000 worldwide and has eliminated an undisclosed number of jobs over the past year as part of a companywide cost-cutting push.