Wayne Losing 80 Jobs With Haier America Consolidating Operations

WAYNE, N.J. — The township is losing 80 jobs with the announced move by Haier to move it U.S. headquarters to Kentucky — jobs that were brought to the township two years with the hope that potentially hundreds more would follow.

Haier America Corp., which is owned by global appliance manufacturer Qingdao Haier, will have its headquarters combined with GE Appliances, which Qingdao acquired June 6, Haier spokesperson Kim Freeman said in a statement Wednesday.

Employees at the Wayne location and Haier's other U.S. facilities were notified in June that the two Haier units would be consolidated into a single operation to "focus resources on the goal to become the leading provider of innovative home solutions," in North America.

Part of Haier America's digital living business will continue to be based in Wayne at the 1800 Valley Road site, Freeman told NorthJersey.com.

The loss of 80 jobs comes just two years after Haier moved its headquarters to the Wayne location with the hope that eventually hundreds of employees would be working there.

RELATED: Electronics Manufacturer Will Bring 500 Jobs to Wayne

Haier America signed a 13-year lease in 2013 to use the 58,000-square-foot building near Valley National Bank, UPS, the Toys “R” Us headquarters, and William Paterson University.

Mayor Chris Vergano said when the move was announced that the 500 employees would "have a positive effect for small businesses in the neighborhood."

Vergano told NorthJersey.com that he is "sure the building is marketable."

The loss of jobs comes a week after FedEx opened a new 163,000-square-foot facility at the former Drake's Bakery location on Demarest Drive. Other companies, such as GAF and Bayer HealthCare have also moved out of town in recent years.

But other sites in town — like the Wayne Towne Center near the Willowbrook Mall the and State Farm property on Route 23 — continue to be developed. CarMax will take over the 15-acre State Farm property. Driscoll Foods is planning to move into the former Bayer site on the West Belt Highway, NorthJersey.com reported.

Send local news tips, photos, and press releases to daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.

Image via Shutterstock