Jim Pifer was braced for bad news, but GE Transportation's plan to permanently cut 1,480 jobs was more bad news than he expected.

The layoff -- the equivalent of nearly twice the jobs lost in the 2002 closing of Erie's International Paper Co. plant -- comes at a plant where about 700 hourly employees are eligible for early retirement.

Pifer wouldn't guess Tuesday how many employees might choose to retire. But he's hopeful that it will be hundreds, and that younger workers with less time on the job will be able to keep working.

Shaun Francis, the company's general manager of human resources, shares that goal.

"We want to do everything we can to minimize the number of individuals being laid off as opposed to transitioning into retirement," he said.

Pifer said the company's retirement plan will ease the transition for employees who are at least 55 years old with 25 or more years of service.

But the financial hit to the community -- the loss of nearly 1,500 of Erie's better-paying jobs, effective in 60 days -- is substantial, said Jim Kurre, professor of economics at Penn State Behrend.

"It's very bad news for the local economy. Anytime we lose manufacturing jobs that are good-paying jobs it hurts especially," he said. "Because GE buys from so many suppliers in the local area, it will have a ripple effect on our economy and elsewhere."

Dennis McLaughlin, vice president of Local 506, said the union is concerned about more than just the effect on its membership.

"Our concern is the effect it's going to have on the community," he said. "Each GE job supports two or thee other jobs."

The cuts, however, were not a surprise.

Stephan Koller, spokesman for GE Transportation, has been signaling for weeks that permanent cuts could be coming, stressing that the company has not received a single North American locomotive order in 2009.

And Chief Executive Lorenzo Simonelli predicted recently that locomotive production could fall 50 percent in 2010.

It was that outlook that led to Tuesday's announcement.

"We don't have work for people to turn wrenches," Francis said.

The company, he said, had delayed permanent cuts for as long as it could after initiating a series of cost-cutting moves in late 2008 that included the elimination of holiday parties.

GE Transportation also froze pay for its salaried workers, cut executive pay, trimmed travel expenses and in February announced a combination of temporary and permanent layoffs that affected 1,550 people.

Those combined cuts saved about $150 million, he said.

Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott had been following the fortunes of the county's largest employer and knew a lack of new orders would likely lead to lost jobs.

But he, too, was hoping for a more modest cut.

"GE called the office this morning," he said. "I was rather surprised and disappointed. I understand the economy is down and locomotive demand is down, (but) that has a significant effect on our community."

Count the nonprofit sector among those that will feel the pinch.

"Less people in (GE's) work force is an obstacle we'll be facing in terms of fundraising for now and probably the near future," said R.J. Zonna, vice president of campaign and communications at the United Way of Erie County.

In 2008, the local United Way was able to fend off a down year for fundraising in part because of a $1.9 million donation made by GE Transportation. It was the largest single donation from an organization and its employees that the local chapter had received in its 95-year history.

"People that are laid off aren't going to be making charitable gifts," said Mike Batchelor, president of the Erie Community Foundation, which serves as a collection point for charitable endowments and connects donors to community needs.

"But quite frankly, that's the last thing on my mind today," he said. "The focus needs to be on helping those people."

Pifer acknowledged that some of his fellow employees will need help, but said he wasn't looking for anyone to blame.

"I think the company has done the best they could do," Pifer said. "There are no bitter feelings on either side."

Inside the company gates, there was an odd calm in the air Tuesday, said Mike Hayes, the plant's chief union steward.

"It seemed like the calm before the storm," he said.

The storm, he suggested, could come as reality sets in.

Dave Armor, a retired GE Transportation engineer, was inclined Tuesday to cut his old employer a break as he stood on Main Street in Lawrence Park Township, just a stone's throw from the company's Water Street gate.

"You can't stay in business long paying someone to do nothing," he said. "They are trying to make a profit."

Francis said the layoff should signal to no one that Erie's days are numbered as the world headquarters of GE Transportation, which after this layoff will employ fewer than 4,000 at the Lawrence Park plant.

"I can't stress enough the fact that we are still committed to Erie," he said. "This is a difficult day for all of us. It's a difficult day for the leadership and the community, but we are very proud of our 100-plus-year relationship, and we look forward to the next 100 years."