As part of a $3 billion investment to expand and modernize its U.S. operations in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina, where much of its production is already located, General Electric (GE) Appliances will transfer production of select home appliances including refrigerators, gas ranges, and water heaters out of Mexico and China.
The shift will occur over the next five years as it transfers more work to its domestic plants where it can “manufacture close to its customers,” which is part of the company’s long-term strategy to adapt to changing market conditions.
In a statement, the company said that it will “relocate production of gas ranges from Mexico to a plant in Georgia, while six refrigerator models now made in China will be manufactured at its Alabama plant.”
“With lean manufacturing, upskilling our workforce and automation, the math works for manufacturing in the United States,” CEO Kevin Nolan said, adding that the investment is the second largest in GE Appliance’s history.
GE Appliances is not a subsidiary of General Electric (GE), the latter of which will maintain a strategic presence in Mexico where it has operated since 1896 and employs more than 11,000 people directly at its 17 manufacturing plants, as well as nearly 50,000 indirect employees. Its GE Aerospace Querétaro is one of the world’s largest advanced engineering centers.
General Electric sold GE Appliances to Chinese firm Haier Smart, which has been selling products under the GE Profile brand since that time and will do so until the agreement ends in several decades. The sale was prompted by performance issues and low profit margins, which is why GE sought to end its joint venture with Mexican appliance manufacturer, Mabe, but the sale avoided having to do so. Since that 2016 acquisition, $6.5 million USD has been invested in U.S. manufacturing and distribution infrastructure.
