GE to freeze U.K. pension plans

[June 10, 2021]  (Reuters) -General Electric Co said on Thursday it would freeze pension benefits for about 2,700 employees in the United Kingdom from January and take a related charge.

The General Electric logo is pictured on working helmets during a visit at the General Electric offshore wind turbine plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo

GE's pension benefit obligation in the U.K. was about $14 billion at the end of 2020. The company's pension plan has been closed to new entrants in the UK since September 2011.

"The affected employees will automatically be enrolled into GE's existing defined contribution scheme," the company said.

GE, which makes power plants and aircraft engines, is working to manage its pension obligation and reduce debt.

"Continuing to solidify GE's financial position requires us to make difficult decisions," the company's Chief Human Resources Officer Kevin Cox said.

The company said it would record a non-cash curtailment charge in the second quarter of 2021.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.