After a crippling layoff in 2009 and swirling rumors of a move to Texas, things are looking up at GE Transportation in Lawrence Park.

"We've pronounced 2011 our year of renewal," said company spokesman, Stephan Koller. 

The announcement came Tuesday afternoon.  Three hundred and sixty jobs coming by years end; 160 of them brand new positions.  The other 200 to fill expected early retirement holes.

And $136 million in facility and technology upgrades are also on the way.

In all, it may be just what the doctor ordered to quiet those Texas rumors.

"Just in 2011 alone, we have filled more than 1,100 positions, we have announced 360 more and we are investing 136 million dollars.  You tell me," said Koller. 

It's certainly welcome news for one year employee Tiffany Flynn.

"I'm really ecstatic because I come in to work and I see so many people from my high school and I see their parents working there or there aunts and uncles.  So it's nice to be able to hire a lot of those people back who have been laid off before as well as offering so many college students who have invested so much in their education the opportunity to work for a big company," said Flynn. 

For someone who invests so much time in monitoring economic growth in the region, Barbara Chaffee is also excited, but knows there's still work to be done.

"I think the investment in the plant and the testing facilities and manufacturing is a good message, and we want them and hope they will continue that commitment.  But we always have to realize there are the ups and downs in this industry and so we want to make sure we're the primary location in years to come," said Chaffee, president of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. 

This commitment, at least for now, will help keep Erie's largest employer, rolling in Lawrence Park.