GE Appliances to move washing machine production from China to Kentucky in $490M investment

GE Appliances on Thursday said it would spend $490 million to move the production of most of its washing machines from China to Kentucky.
The operation will move to the company's massive industrial Appliance Park headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, where it already manufactures washers and dryers. At least 800 new full - time jobs are expected to be created, the company said in a news release.
"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. "This decision is our most recent product reshoring and aligns with the current economic and policy environment."
The investment will bring more than 15 washer models to Building 2 in Appliance Park at the company headquarters, bringing the total area of clothes care production to the equivalent of 33 football fields.
The move is expected to be completed by 2027.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear praised the announcement, saying the 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 news came as President Donald Trump is attempting to lure companies back to the United States by imposing tariffs. He has slapped additional tariffs on China, as well as other countries. GE Appliances is a subsidiary of the Haier company, which is based in China.