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GE Appliances announced Thursday it will invest $490 million to relocate most of its washing machine production from China to its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, a move expected to create at least 800 full-time jobs.
The company said the expanded operations will take place at Appliance Park, GE’s industrial campus, where it already manufactures washers and dryers. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.
“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 GE Appliances President and CEO Kevin Nolan in a news release.
“This decision is our most recent product reshoring and aligns with the current economic and policy environment,” he added.
The $490 million investment will bring production of more than 15 washer models to Building 2 at Appliance Park, expanding the total clothes care manufacturing space to the size of 33 football fields. Neighboring Building 1 currently produces top-load washers and front-load dryers.
“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.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear welcomed the news, saying the 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 announcement follows former President Donald Trump’s push to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., including the imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports. GE Appliances, a subsidiary of China-based Haier, is the latest major manufacturer to shift production stateside amid growing economic pressure to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
Appliance Park employs approximately 8,000 workers and has been a focal point of GE Appliances’ U.S. manufacturing network. Over the past decade, the company has invested $3.5 billion in American operations, including plants in several other states.
The president mentioned the GE announcement on Truth Social on Sunday, noting, “America is BOOMING!”
