GE to invest $450 Million in Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) —GE Appliances announced plans Thursday to add more than 1,000 jobs at its sprawling Kentucky operations as part
of a $450 million investment to boost capacity and launch new products.
The Kentucky-based home appliances business did not offer specifics about its new product plans but signaled that part of the investment would be pumped into laundry, dishwasher and refrigeration lines at its Louisville production complex — known as Appliance Park.
The new appliance-related jobs are expected to be added by the end of 2023, GE Appliances said in its announcement. Most will be assembly-line jobs, along with some management and operations-support positions, it said. Appliance Park has a current workforce of about 7,100. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear thanked the company for its continued commitment to the state. “This substantial investment will better position the company for the years ahead and will create quality job opportunities for Kentuckians,” Beshear said.
The $450 million infusion into Appliance Park is the largest round of investments in recent years as part of the company’s growth strategy. In the past five years, GE Appliances invested more than $1.3 billion in its U.S. manufacturing and distribution operations, creating more than 3,000 new jobs — the majority of them in Kentucky. Appliance Park is home to five plants that produce washers, dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators as well as parts and components. The company plans to upgrade its Louisville facilities as part of the new investment. GE Appliances also has manufacturing plants in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
The investment builds on the continued resurgence of Appliance Park. Established in the early 1950s, the vast Louisville operation employed about 20,000 by the late 1970s but the workforce shrank to about 4,000 during the Great Recession.
GE Appliances, a part of General Electric for decades, was purchased in 2016 by the China-based Haier company.
