GE to add 100 new jobs in Niskayuna; HQ going to Boston

PHOTOGRAPHER: File Photo

The exterior of the General Electric plant in Schenectady.

Three new laboratories and 100 new jobs will be coming to General Electric’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, but corporate headquarters won’t be moving to New York state, the company announced today.

The new labs in Niskayuna will include the Edge Lab, which will focus on development of artificial intelligence and robots — something spokesman Todd Ahlart said is “at the core of where the company is going.”

Other new labs will be a Performance and Cost Lab devoted to trying to lower product production costs, and a Science of Product Leadership Lab.

In a statement, GE said the new high-tech positions in Niskayuna represent “yet another example of the company’s commitment to its digital transformation.”

The news comes on the same day that GE announced plans to eliminate 6,500 jobs in Europe in a global restructuring effort as the company seeks $3 billion in cost savings from its purchase of the Paris-based Alstom company’s energy business.

In the announcement about its corporate headquarters, GE said it will move them from Fairfield, Ct., to Boston — a rejection of New York’s efforts to attract the headquarters to the Hudson Valley.

The move will start this summer and be completed by 2018, the company said.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt cited the Boston area’s dozens of colleges and universities, and the extensive research and development work done in eastern Massachusetts.

The Niskayuna facility is GE’s global research headquarters and has maintained a steady number of high-paying jobs even as employment at GE’s Schenectady power division has fluctuated.

About 2,000 people, most of them scientists and engineers, work at Global Research.

“The role of research in merging the physical and digital in industry drives GE’s competitive advantage,” said Vic Abate, chief technology officer and head of GE Global Research.

“GE has a rich history of innovation in New York, and this type of investment into our Global Research Center is essential to ensure we are pioneering solutions that help drive better outcomes for our customers and strengthen our country’s competitive advantage.” Immelt said in GE’s news release.

GE said it has doubled its research and development investment over the past decade and has expanded its global network of research centers.

Reach Gazette reporter Stephen Williams at 395-3086, [email protected] or @gazettesteve on Twitter.