The Wabtec Corporation has plans to close its facility in Allegheny County according to a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notice filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. 

According to the notice, 94 employees will be affected by the closure with layoffs beginning in February/March of 2024. 

The notice states that the facility will officially close on July 1, 2024. 

Additionally, Wabtec will also be closing a facility in Philadelphia. 

This announcement comes after this summer's UE 506 & 618 strike. The union ratified its new contract at the end of August, 2023. 

Tim Bader, Director, External & Engineering Communications at Wabtec sent the following statement to Erie News Now: 

"The WARN notice is part of a negotiated contract agreement with the UE 610 in 2022 to close the Wilmerding plant. The Wilmerding site’s deteriorating condition made it too expensive to maintain. The site also was substantially underutilized and operated at less than a third of its capacity. The plant’s outdated layout did not lend itself to modern production processes and material flows. These challenges were compounded by the difficult business conditions, which hindered the Wilmerding site’s productivity and cost competitiveness."