GE Appliances is investing more than $3 billion over the next five years to expand its U.S. operations, aligning with the Trump administration’s efforts to bring manufacturing back to American soil.
The investment is the second-largest in the company’s history and will support the expansion of its air conditioning and water heating portfolio, increase production across all product lines and modernize 11 U.S. manufacturing plants. The first phase will roll out at facilities in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
GE Appliances CEO Kevin Nolan told FOX Business that companies today should be thinking about building a more responsive and efficient supply chain by bringing more of it to the U.S.
"This starts a virtuous cycle," he said, noting that when more companies manufacture locally, suppliers are likely to follow. GE's investments are part of the company’s broader "zero distance" strategy to reduce the gap between its operations and its customers.
GE Appliances' washer and dryers sitting on a shelf in a factory. (GE Appliances)
In June, it announced plans to shift production of clothes washers from China to its Kentucky manufacturing complex.
In South Carolina, the Camden plant will add electric and hybrid water heaters, doubling output and employment by 2026. In Tennessee, new air conditioner models will be added to the air and water product portfolio. The Georgia plant is adding capacity for gas and induction ranges, wall ovens, and cooktops – bringing gas range production back from Mexico. In Alabama, the Decatur plant will insource top-freezer refrigerator models. And in Kentucky, the company is investing $490 million to launch combo washer/dryer and front-load washer production, creating 800 new jobs.
Altogether, GE Appliances will have invested , adding more than with from this latest investment. The company says it contributes over and supports directly and indirectly.
President Donald Trump has been reshaping global trade norms to boost manufacturing on U.S. soil by imposing tariffs on imported goods.
Workers on the floor of a GE Appliances manufacturing facility. (GE Appliances)
Since then, companies across several sectors have announced investments in boosting their domestic manufacturing in recent months. GE's other business unit, GE Aerospace, pledged a nearly $1 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing in March.
Eli Lilly, Apple, Softbank, DAMAC, Meta and others have also committed to investing in the U.S. under Trump.
Nolan said that he's "convinced" manufacturing is coming back to the U.S., but that the real challenge for companies is figuring out how to manufacture products in the most effective and efficient way.
GE Appliances will have invested $6.5 billion in its U.S. manufacturing and distribution network since 2016. (GE Appliances)
"People that are just getting into this for the first time," Nolan said. "It's going to be hard, because there's going to be lessons of learning. And you got a lot of executives that I don't think I've heard them all talk about manufacturing now, but I don't know if any of them ever gotten their hands dirty and been out on a manufacturing floor and actually understand the processes."
Nolan said the U.S. has to start building up a robust pipeline of workers, which means investing in schools, trade programs and training. He said it's particularly critical to increase the number of engineers in the country.
GE Appliances' latest U.S. investment is expected to add 1,000 jobs. (GE Appliances)
Nolan said GE works with students starting from high school to help them better understand trade jobs. It also has apprenticeship programs and partnerships, including involvement in two Manufacturing Institute FAME chapters, that have brought more people into skilled maintenance roles.
"If you look at other countries out there that are good at manufacturing, their graduation rate of engineers, and especially manufacturing engineers, is much, much higher than the U.S. So you're not going to bring manufacturing back without engineers," he said.