FRANKFORT, Ky. — As Kentucky celebrates Manufacturing Month, one of the state’s largest manufacturers is making major plans for the future. GE Appliances, a Haier company, announced it will add over 1,000 full-time jobs and invest $450 million over the next two years as the company continues its commitment to the commonwealth with upgrades at Appliance Park in Louisville.
Leaders at GE Appliances plan to invest in upgrades at Appliance Park across its operations to increase production of clothes washers, install a new assembly line for added flexibility to support the company’s kitchen cleaning business, introduce new refrigerator-freezer models and ramp up refrigerator production. It also will provide new equipment to support the company’s Plastics Injection Molding Center of Excellence.
“GE Appliances continues to bring manufacturing back to the United States, creating jobs and economic growth,” said Kevin Nolan, president, and CEO for GE Appliances. “We want zero distance between us and the millions of families we serve with our products across America. I want to thank Gov. Beshear and the entire economic development team for their understanding of the importance of growing and sustaining existing businesses in the commonwealth.”
Over the past five years, GE Appliances invested over $1.3 billion in its U.S. operations, creating more than 3,000 jobs, with the majority in Kentucky.
Appliance Park in Louisville is GE Appliances’ largest manufacturing operation, with more than 6 million square feet for production of washers, dryers, dishwashers, and refrigerators.
Appliance Park sits on 750 acres in southern Jefferson County, where GE Appliances began production in 1953. The campus serves as the company’s headquarters and includes marketing, sales, and support functions. Appliance Park also houses the company’s technology and engineering center, industrial design, distribution center, and warehouse operations. GE Appliances employs more than 7,100 people full-time at Appliance Park and a nearby call center.
To encourage investment and job retention in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) today approved a supplemental project to an existing Kentucky Jobs Retention Act (KJRA) program agreement with the company. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $80 million in cumulative tax incentives based on the company’s total cumulative investment of $727 million across the original and supplemental KJRA projects with an annual job target requirement of up to 8,400 over the term of the agreement.
By meeting its annual targets over the agreement term, the company can be eligible to keep a portion of the new tax revenue it generates. The company may claim eligible incentives against its income tax liability and/or wage assessments.
In addition, GE Appliances can receive resources from Kentucky’s workforce service providers. These include no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training, and job-training incentives.
For more information on GE Appliances, visit GEAppliancesCo.com.
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