This article was originally published by The Epoch Times: GE Appliances to Invest Nearly $500 Million to Reshore Washer-Dryer Production in Kentucky
The company was purchased by China-based multinational home appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer Haier in 2016.
GE Appliances, owned by the Chinese multinational home appliance and consumer electronics manufacturer Haier Group Corp., announced on June 26 that it will invest $490 million to expand its washer and dryer manufacturing plant in Kentucky, stating that the project will bring current production back to the United States from China.
The multimillion-dollar investment at the GE Appliance plant in Louisville, Kentucky, which serves as the company’s global headquarters and largest manufacturing site, will establish the company’s most advanced manufacturing plant for producing clothes washers, the company said.
The project will bring manufacturing back to the United States for several popular technology-loaded appliances, including GE Profile-branded combination washers and dryers and a front-load washer, creating 800 new, full-time jobs and strengthening Kentucky’s position as a global hub for advanced appliance manufacturing.
GE Appliances stated that the new investment, along with millions of dollars in incentives from the State of Kentucky, positions the plant to become the largest American washer manufacturer. This builds on a 10-year, $3.5 billion investment in the United States following Haier’s purchase of the company in 2016 for $5.6 billion.
“We are bringing laundry production to our global headquarters in Louisville because manufacturing in the U.S. is fundamental to our ‘zero-distance’ business strategy to make appliances as close as possible to our customers and consumers,” said Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances.
“This decision is our most recent product reshoring and aligns with the current economic and policy environment.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said: “This new investment strengthens one of our vital Kentucky assets and underscores our state’s reputation as America’s destination of choice for advanced manufacturing and job creation.”
The reshoring initiative was announced just two weeks before President Donald Trump’s 90-day deadline for U.S. trade partners to reach agreements on reciprocal tariffs by July 9. Countries that do not have bilateral trade deals by then could face tariffs significantly higher than the current 10 percent baseline.
Following the April 9 tariff pause, Trump responded to Chinese countermeasures by raising U.S. tariffs on China from 34 percent to 84 percent, and then to 145 percent in a subsequent announcement.
Since then, however, the Trump administration has resumed talks with Beijing’s trade officials, including high-level negotiations in London last month that resulted in a framework agreement with China, pending final approval from Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
According to GE Appliances, the new investment will move the production of more than 15 models of front-load washers to a redesigned “Building 2” at the large 900-acre manufacturing site known as Appliance Park, increasing the total area dedicated to laundry appliance production to the size of 33 football fields.
The retooling of Building 2 will be redesigned as a model factory, showcasing the latest in automation, robotics, and material-handling technologies, including automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The industrial site’s Building 1 next door already produces top-load washers and front-load dryers, officials said.
The reshored manufacturing lines will open in 2027. Currently, the facility is vertically integrated, with other company workers handling in-house manufacturing of critical parts, such as stainless-steel baskets and cabinets, high-precision metal stamping and forming, as well as injection molding and production equipment, and delivering products.
“Manufacturing in Louisville puts production closer to our designers, engineers and consumers so that together we can create our most innovative laundry platforms,” said Lee Lagomarcino, vice president of clothes care at GE Appliances.
“The team has already developed new solutions for American households and can’t wait to get started making them.”
Besides GE Appliances’ investment, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority has preliminarily approved performance-based incentives for the projects that will fund workforce training grants and support the modernization of the building. Final amounts will be determined once GE Appliances meets the job retention and investment targets.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg described the half-billion-dollar investment from local and state economic development officials in Kentucky as “a huge deal” that will generate 800 local jobs and ensure GE Appliance’s growth in the city for the next generation. Currently, there are about 8,000 workers at Appliance Park.
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