GE Will Invest $432 Million, Add 500 Jobs in Appliances Division

General Electric Co. (GE) will invest $432 million in its appliances division, resulting in the creation of 500 jobs. The conglomerate wants to expand its market share in the refrigerator market and boost the number of appliances made in the U.S.

GE will invest almost $200 million in a new plant in Louisville, Ky., and will add 300 jobs there, the company said in a statement Monday. GE will also keep a Bloomington, Ind., plant open, making $93 million worth of improvements while creating about 200 jobs.

GE's appliances operations, which the company tried to sell in 2008, are part of a Home and Business Solutions division whose operating profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 was unchanged at $104 million on a 1% drop in segment revenue. Overall, GE will invest more than $1 billion in the division and add more than 1,300 jobs over the next four years.

The company said on Oct. 15 said its fiscal third-quarter earnings jumped 29% from a year earlier as a surge in earnings from its GE Capital unit more than offset the effects of a 5% drop on overall revenue. Home and Business Solutions accounted for about 6% of the company's fiscal third-quarter revenue.