South Windsor's ClearEdge Power Lays Off Much of Workforce

ClearEdge Power laid off much of its workforce in South Windsor Thursday and Friday, just a month after UTC Power was sold to the Oregon-based fuel cell manufacturer.

South Windsor Chief of Police Matthew Reed said that police were notified by company officials that 170 of ClearEdge's 300 South Windsor employees were being laid off. Reed said that it was standard operating procedure for police to be notified of such layoffs for security purposes.

According to the Hartford Courant, ClearEdge Power laid off 39 percent of its workforce nationwide.

The Courant reported that ClearEdge spokeswoman Jennifer Sager said the number of layoffs was lower than 170 in South Windsor, but she did not say how many.

The cuts hit the South Windsor locations - there are two - particularly hard because they are home to ClearEdge’s mobile fuel cell division, according to the Courant. The company is moving away from the business of mobile fuel cells that run in vehicles, the Courant reported.