“Today, GE announced that it will divest the Transportation business from its portfolio. The Company is in the early stages of this process and exploring a multitude of possibilities that may include, among several options, creative approaches used to transition GE’s Consumer Finance business into Synchrony Financial or models like the Baker Hughes and GE Oil & Gas merger,” spokesman Tim Bader tells Trains News Wire. “This move is in line with GE’s broader efforts to divest $20 billion in assets over the next few years. The Transportation business remains committed to building on its strong culture of innovation, deep domain, world-class technology and digital solutions in a way that best positions the business for growth.”
In July 2017, GE announced that it would shift all locomotive production to Fort Worth, Texas, by the end of 2018, ending production at its famed Erie, Pa., works.
In October 2017, GE named Rafael Santana, one-time president and CEO of GE Latin America, as president and CEO of Chicago-based GE Transportation, effective Nov. 1.
Does anyone else notice how so many of the posts given are just negative rants based on nothing but the ranter’s speculation or drama story. Not just in this article, but in ALL articles. Is your outlook really that bad?
Another hedge fund seeking short turn investment gains.
This was also reported in the Wall Street Journal about two weeks ago.
GE Transportation (locomotive manufacturing) is only about $4B of the total $120B+ in annual revenue for General Electric. And locomotive orders have been down in the past few years, so not exactly a growth business line for GE. Maybe the locomotive plant GE is building in India for the 1,000+ locomotive order in that country will become GE’s only locomotive manufacturing plant (with the Ft. Worth plant eventually closing?).
Too bad to see GE to want to sell off their locomotive business. But perhaps a “sign of the times” in the ongoing deindustrialization of the United States?
GE can move headquarters to more affordable area, just like Class One Railroads.
CAT in the business.
They are also selling off the lighting business that the company was founded on.
Is that what we need here is another American company sold to foreign company?I sure hope not.Why has the justice department allowed all these foreign companies to come in & buy up American businesses?Maybe Caterpillar can buy this entity while selling off Progress Rail.
Isn’t FM still in business under a different name?
Those of you interested in this should read William Vantuono’s editorial about it. He lays it on the line;
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/william-vantuono/its-official-ge-booting-transportation-meanwhile-the-stock-swoons.html?channel=00
My guess is that it will be sold to an overseas company, most likely Chinese but could be Indian or Brazilian, and all jobs in US eliminated other than the few needed to satisfy local content requirements.
The long, slow, railroad industry death-spiral continues…
I’m sorry to read that G.E. plus to leave the locomotive business, which it’s been in since 1903. Consulting William D. Middleton’s biography of Frank Julian Sprague, I found that G.E. and the American Locomotive Company collaborated on the building of the first locomotives for the New York Central’s electrification of its main line between Croton-on-Hudson and Grand Central in New York City, with delivery of the first locomotives in 1904.
What is maddening that other foreign country’s have come and taken over supplying the shrinking U.S. rail industry particularly in passenger car manufacturing. Our transportation policies have lead to this situation. The U.S. has not invested in rail other than crumbs to Amtrak and some other projects. The expertise of Budd and Pullman are long gone. Is the locomotive industry far behind. One had to assume that GE was going to sell the locomotive division eventually.
Wonder if Cummins is interested………
GE also selling it’s lighting division, upon which the company was founded.
Maybe Bombardier will buy or Alsthom or Siemens or how about the Chinese. Catepillar already bought EMD.
Time to revive the ALCO name…
And then the US had none… well, of the two biggest players, at least. Maybe some of the smaller US players will fill the void. Meanwhile, the Europeans and Asians are doing the heavy lifting for us & the rest of the world.
Well, as the man said, “It may not make sense to you, but it makes sense to SOMEBODY!”
Surprise, Surprise!!