Gillibrand steps into fray over National Grid jobs

UTILITIES

New York's junior senator, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, has stepped into the fray over whether jobs on Long Island at National Grid would be sent overseas. We reported recently that Long Island employees working in information technology for National Grid were concerned about their jobs after workers in Syracuse said they had been told by managers that the company may outsource as many as 200 jobs over the next year. The story first appeared in the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Gillibrand, in a letter to Tom King, National Grid's president in the United States, said: "Please reconsider any decision you have made this far to eliminate any of the National Grid jobs in New York State and the Northeast."

Company spokesman Albert Bianchetti said in a statement this week the company has made "no decision regarding our workforce" and "any claims of impact locally are speculative and premature."

Long Island IT employees say they believe the company has plans to outsource their jobs overseas.