Following this morning’s major earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, staff at Wilmington’s GE Hitachi shifted quickly into emergency response mode.

“We set up a command center in Wilmington for family members to call,” said Michael Tetuan, GE Hitachi’s public relations manager.

About 500 employees work in Japan, all of whom are safe and have been accounted for, he said.

Today GE Hitachi’s human resources department is contacting employee’s emergency contacts to inform them of their loved one’s safety, Tetuan said. They are also fielding calls from customers.

The company has a sister facility that creates nuclear fuel in Kurihama, about 40 miles south of Tokyo. It is called Global Nuclear Fuel-Japan Co. Ltd.  It employs about 450 people.

Hitachi GE Nuclear Energy’s headquarters are in Hitachi City and Tokyo with sales offices in Sendai, Toyama, Nagoya and Hiroshima, according to company marketing materials.

The damage to the company’s buildings and equipment in Japan have not yet been reported, Tetuan said.