How GE Sold Off Its Appliance Brands: From American Icon to Chinese Ownership

The Dismantling of an American Conglomerate

For most of the 20th century, General Electric was the most admired company in America. Founded by Thomas Edison in 1892, GE grew into a sprawling conglomerate spanning appliances, jet engines, power plants, media (NBC), financial services (GE Capital), healthcare equipment, and lighting. The GE logo was one of the most trusted symbols in American business.

By 2026, GE as a conglomerate no longer exists. The company has been systematically broken into three separate companies, and its most consumer-visible brand, GE Appliances, has been owned by a Chinese company since 2016.

This is the story of how GE sold off its appliance brands and what happened to the rest of the empire.

The GE Appliances Sale

The Deal

In January 2016, GE announced the sale of its Appliances business to Qingdao Haier Co., Ltd. (now Haier Smart Home) for $5.4 billion. The deal closed in June 2016.

• The GE Appliances brand name (licensed from GE)
• Monogram (luxury appliances)
• Cafe (premium lifestyle appliances)
• Profile (mid-range appliances)
• Hotpoint (value appliances)
• Manufacturing facilities in Louisville, Kentucky, and other U.S. locations
• Approximately 12,000 employees

• The GE corporate name and logo
• A licensing agreement allowing Haier to use the GE name on appliances
• The proceeds to reinvest in its industrial businesses

Why GE Sold

GE's CEO at the time, Jeff Immelt, was executing a strategy to transform GE from a diversified conglomerate into a focused industrial company. The theory was that GE's industrial businesses (jet engines, power generation, healthcare equipment) would command higher valuations than a conglomerate discount.

The appliance business, while iconic, was a low-margin, highly competitive consumer business that did not fit GE's industrial focus. Profit margins on refrigerators and washing machines were far lower than margins on jet engines and MRI machines.

What Happened Under Haier

Haier, the world's largest appliance manufacturer by volume, invested significantly in GE Appliances after the acquisition:

• $2+ billion invested in U.S. manufacturing facilities
• New product lines launched under the Cafe and Monogram brands
• Expanded manufacturing at the Louisville, Kentucky headquarters
• New technology center in Evansville, Indiana
• Job creation: Thousands of new manufacturing positions in the U.S.

However, not everything went smoothly. As of January 2026, GE Appliances had accumulated over 3,600 Better Business Bureau complaints in three years, with most citing poor customer service. The transition from GE's corporate culture to Haier's management approach created friction.

For consumers, the most important fact is this: when you buy a GE appliance today, you are buying from a Chinese-owned company. The GE name on the refrigerator is a licensed brand, not an indicator that General Electric manufactured the product.

The Broader GE Dismantling

GE Appliances was just one piece of a decades-long divestiture strategy:

• GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE): Jet engines and aviation services. This is the only company that kept the GE name.
• GE Healthcare (NASDAQ: GEHC): Medical imaging, diagnostics, and digital solutions.
• GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV): Power generation, wind energy, and electrification.

Where GE's Consumer Brands Ended Up

GE Lighting, another iconic consumer brand, was sold to Savant Systems in 2020. The light bulbs that carried the GE name for over a century are now made by a home automation company.

The Jack Welch Legacy

The GE dismantling is partly a reversal of the strategy championed by legendary CEO Jack Welch (1981-2001). Welch built GE into the world's most valuable company through aggressive acquisitions and diversification. At its peak in 2000, GE had a market capitalization of over $600 billion.

Welch's successor, Jeff Immelt (2001-2017), inherited a company that was overleveraged and overdiversified. The 2008 financial crisis exposed GE Capital's risks, and the company spent the next 15 years unwinding Welch's empire.

The lesson: conglomerate building and conglomerate dismantling are both multi-decade processes. The brands Welch assembled over 20 years took another 20 years to separate.

What This Means for Consumers

Brand names can be misleading. A GE refrigerator is not made by General Electric. It is made by a Chinese company using the GE name under license. This is increasingly common across consumer goods: brand names outlast their original corporate parents.

Foreign ownership is widespread. GE Appliances joining Haier is part of a broader pattern. Budweiser is Belgian-Brazilian owned (AB InBev). Firestone is Japanese owned (Bridgestone). 7-Eleven is Japanese owned (Seven & i Holdings). Understanding foreign ownership helps consumers make informed decisions.

Quality can go either direction. Some acquired brands improve under new ownership (Jaguar under Tata Motors). Others decline. GE Appliances has seen mixed results: significant investment in products and manufacturing, but declining customer service reputation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns GE Appliances?

GE Appliances is owned by Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd., a Chinese multinational. Haier acquired GE Appliances from General Electric in 2016 for $5.4 billion. The GE name is used under a licensing agreement.

Is GE still a company?

The GE conglomerate no longer exists. It was split into three independent public companies in 2023-2024: GE Aerospace (jet engines), GE Healthcare (medical equipment), and GE Vernova (power/energy). Only GE Aerospace retained the GE name.

Are GE appliances still made in America?

Many GE Appliances products are still manufactured in the United States, primarily at facilities in Louisville, Kentucky. Haier has invested over $2 billion in U.S. manufacturing since the acquisition.

Why did GE sell its appliance business?

GE sold its appliance division as part of a broader strategy to exit consumer businesses and focus on industrial operations (jet engines, power generation, healthcare). The appliance business had lower margins than GE's industrial segments.

The Bottom Line

The GE story is one of the most dramatic examples of brand dismantling in American corporate history. A company that once spanned appliances, media, finance, healthcare, aviation, and energy has been broken into pieces, with its most consumer-visible brands now owned by foreign companies or spun off as separate entities. The GE name still appears on appliances, but the company behind it is fundamentally different from the American icon that consumers grew up trusting.

Explore brand ownership on WhoBrands or browse appliance brands.

Sources

1. GE Appliances Press Room. "GE Completes Sale to Haier." June 2016. 2. Inc. "How Haier Did What GE Couldn't." January 2025. 3. Wikipedia. "GE Appliances." Updated 2026. 4. GE Aerospace. Investor Relations. ge.com 5. Better Business Bureau. "GE Appliances Complaint Data." 2023-2026.

All brand ownership data verified through WhoBrands.com's research methodology. Last updated: January 21, 2026.