FIRST ON 3: GE-Hitachi says workers in Japan all safe

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Wilmington-based GE-Hitachi says all of its employees in Japan are safe after today’s earthquake and tsunami.

PR manager Mike Tetuan says the company had about 500 workers at two sites when the earthquake hit. About 450 were at the company’s GNFJ facility in Kurihama, which is south of Tokyo. About 50 were working at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, which is much closer to the epicenter of the quake in northeast Japan. Tetuan said the plant where the workers were is one of the nuclear plants that has been taken offline in the wake of the disaster.

Tetuan said GE-Hitachi is working to contact the families of workers affected. He said the company’s HR department is calling each worker’s emergency contact to let them know the workers are OK.