General Electric is Moving X-Ray Division to China-Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
This is a forwarded email that says General Electric (GE) is moving its 115 year old X-Ray division to China.
The Truth:
The eRumor suggests that General Electric is moving jobs out of the U.S. to China. The company denies that, however, and said that they are expanding to a new presence in China to respond to increased opportunities in the region.
General Electric announced that it is moving its X-Ray Division to Beijing, China to “to accelerate sales in the country’s fast-growing health-care market.” This, according to a July 26, 2011 article in the Wall Street Journal is “the latest sign of China’s growing importance to the giant U.S. conglomerate.”
On July 25, 2011 Reuters reported that a GE spokesperson said that the move will not result in any job cuts at home. The news agency said, “Anne LeGrand, vice president and general manager at GE Healthcare Global X-Ray, is relocating to Beijing from Waukesha, Wisconsin, along with several executives, including the chief financial officer and chief marketing officer.” Currently, the Wisconsin based X-Ray division oversees 820 employees world wide and has 150 employees in the Badger State.
General Electric has operations world wide and this move marks the company’s first facility in China. According to an March 25, 2011 ABC News report, the company did report $14.2 billion in profits in 2010 but paid no taxes because most of of the revenues were generated offshore and the company’s financial division, GE Capital, reported major losses in the Wall Street Meltdown.
The X-Ray Division is not 115 years old, as the eRumor alleged, this facility was built in 1972.
updated 8/24/11