There’s a brand that’s been an American staple since the turn of the 20th century, paving the way for innovation and convenience in kitchens all over the world. It has close ties to American inventor Thomas Edison and has been responsible for inventions like the X-ray machine and kitchen appliances like the waffle maker. It’s General Electric, an American-born conglomerate, a publicly-traded company with a web of subsidiaries, joint ventures, and divisions that add up to one big manufacturing powerhouse.
Over the years, there has been confusion about who owns GE and its divisions. Rumors of Chinese buy-out have mingled with real-life deals. And the complicated inner-workings of GE itself muddy the waters even more. But in short: General Electric is American-owned, General Electric Appliances is not.
The largest shareholder of General Electric itself is an American company, but GE Appliances is owned by a Chinese company named Haier. Headquarters of GE Appliances is still in the U.S., in Louisville, Kentucky, and most of the GE convection ranges, microwaves, washing machines, and other appliances are made in the USA (some are made in Mexico and China).
When did General Electric sell its appliances division?
In 2020 and 2021, there were rumors online that a Chinese company was purchasing General Electric, but that’s wrong. It’s a hodgepodge of half-true information — a Chinese company did buy part of GE, but it was a few years prior. GE sold its appliances division to Haier in 2016 for $5.4 billion, and it was just the appliances division, not the whole company. The sale was because GE wanted to focus on other aspects of manufacturing and leave appliances to someone else. Once the appliances division was sold, GE turned focus to commercial jet engines and other things that impact the world on a bigger scale than a waffle maker.
The location of headquarters and manufacturing didn’t change for GE Appliances, so customers weren’t likely to see much difference when shopping for appliances (go to Costco for great appliance deals). The only changes in the actual products would reflect Haier’s dedication to researching and developing new appliances as well as manufacturing reliable appliances we use today. GE Appliances is just one of Haier’s subsidiaries. Haier itself, operating in 160 different countries, is a subsidiary of a different parent company: Haier Smart Home Company, which is a publicly-traded company owned by a majority of Chinese shareholders.
