GE Appliances’ $3B manufacturing investment includes KY. Here’s where, how much
GE Appliances is investing $3 billion over the next five years in its U.S. operations, including some in Kentucky.
At its global headquarters in Louisville, GE Appliances is putting $490 million toward its washing machine production lines, creating 800 new, full-time jobs.
The nearly $500 million investment was announced June 26 when the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved $113.5 million in performance-based tax credits for the company through the state’s jobs retention program.
The rest of the money will go toward upgrading manufacturing plants and to make new products in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. In total, the investment to increase work done in the U.S. is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs.
“These aren’t isolated wins,” GE Appliances President and CEO Kevin Nolan said Wednesday at Appliance Park in Louisville.
“These are part of our roadmap to grow American manufacturing product by product, state by state. It’s proof that (in) American manufacturing, we’re going to see the best days ahead. And it’s proof of what our global company can do when we have the right partners at our side.”
Nolan continued: “Here in Kentucky, we’ve got strong partners each step of the way with Gov. (Andy) Beshear, (Louisville) Mayor (Craig) Greenberg, the General Assembly, the (Louisville) Metro Council. ... This isn’t a red or blue issue. Strong government policies enable companies like ours to invest with confidence.”
The company’s move to relocate its production and manufacturing operations to the U.S. comes as President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade and tariff agenda starts to hit markets. Global firms Apple Inc. and Ford Motor Co. are also picking Kentucky as a place to produce goods within the country that generates jobs.
On Aug. 11, Ford said it would put $2 billion and keep 2,200 jobs at its Louisville Assembly Plant to deliver a new pickup and start building its electric vehicle platform and production system.
And on Aug. 7, Apple said it would pump $2.5 billion into a glass manufacturing line in Harrodsburg where glass covers for every iPhone and Apple Watch will be made, doubling the factory’s local manufacturing and engineering workforce.
The Aug. 13 investment from the appliance maker is the second-largest in the Louisville-based company’s history. GE’s appliance unit is a subsidiary of China-based Haier.
Once its next investment rolls out over the next five years, company officials said GE Appliances will have put $6.5 billion in 11 manufacturing plants across the U.S., its distribution network and will have added more than 5,000 jobs since 2016.
Joining company executives, Louisville’s Mayor Greenberg, U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, Beshear thanked GE Appliance employees who are helping fuel the company’s success and establishing it as a prominent Kentucky employer, he said.
With its expansion plan, the company is signaling to others that the Commonwealth is a destination for advanced manufacturing and job creation.
“Today shows that how we do this (bringing manufacturing to the U.S.), how the country should do this, starts with the idea that there ain’t nothing Democrat or Republican about a good job,” Beshear said.
The company’s five year plan includes:
- Ramping up production in Alabama by the end of August by making some top-freezer refrigerators in-house.
- Two new air conditioners will be added to the company’s portfolio by year’s end and are expected to be made in Tennessee.
- GE Appliances is adding water heater manufacturing lines by early 2026 in South Carolina, which is expected to double output and employment.
- The company said it is continuing to upgrade a Georgia plant to produce gas, electric and induction ranges, wall ovens and cooktops. Officials said the plant will begin producing gas ranges the company previously made in Mexico.
GE’s economic impact report from 2024 estimated the company contributed $12.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product. The company already supports 8,000 direct jobs in the commonwealth and an additional 30,500 through its economic activity.
Last year, GE Appliances generated approximately $655 million in state and local taxes and spent $318 million with more than 480 Kentucky-based suppliers, according to the report.
This week is the second in a row the commonwealth has enjoyed news of billions-of-dollars-worth of investments being made across the state. Ford’s and GE’s manufacturing projects are recipients of performance-based tax incentives through the state’s jobs retention act.
House Speaker David Osborne said he’s proud of almost a decade’s worth of policy he said has made Kentucky a “better place” to work and to build a business. The Prospect Republican referenced the General Assembly’s push to lower income tax, its elimination of regulation in some industries and its investments in workforce development.
“We know that it’s private industry that’s investing capital. It’s private industry that’s taking risk. It’s private industry that is creating jobs and creating wealth,” Osborne said.
“My pledge to the folks at GE, my pledge to every company that is looking at investing in Kentucky, is that our hope is that the best policies we will make is to get out of the way and let y’all do what you do best.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 12:08 PM.
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