(Host) An executive with IBM says the Vermont plant is critical to the company and isn’t for sale.
An IBM spokesman says Senior Vice President John Kelly met with managers in Essex Junction today. Kelly says the company doesn’t plan to sell or close the Vermont plant, which employs 8,000 people and supports thousands more jobs. Kelly didn’t give any word whether there would be further layoffs in Essex Junction. The plant shed 500 jobs earlier this year.
There has been widespread speculation that there could be 1,500 more jobs cut from Vermont. Analysts also have forecast that the plant could be sold, closed or merged into a partnership with another company. They say it’s not a result of decisions made by Vermont state government.