BEIJING (Reuters) - General Electric Co is moving its global X-ray headquarters to China from the United States as part of the largest U.S. conglomerate's overall drive to boost its presence in big emerging markets.
The move reflects GE's overall drive to shift more of its top executives -- including Vice Chairman John Rice, who this year relocated to Hong Kong -- closer to fast-growing Asian markets.
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, LeGrand said at a briefing in the Chinese capital on Monday.
Those moves will be complete by the end of August, and other staff will be added in the future, LeGrand said.
"I am keeping a globally distributed executive team," she said, with basic radiology and fluoroscopy to be based in Beijing, the bone mineral density business in Wisconsin, and mammography in Buc, outside Paris, France.
Other than the executives who are moving, the changes will not lead to any job cuts at GE's current Wisconsin X-ray headquarters, said spokesman Ben Fox. GE's X-ray arm employs about 820 people worldwide, 150 of whom work in Wisconsin.
GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt, who serves as a top adviser to the Obama administration on job creation, told reporters earlier this month that given the nation's lingering high unemployment, big U.S. companies will be held "accountable" by the public for where they hire people. But with the company expecting to generate 60 percent of its sales outside the United States this year, GE plans to continue adding jobs overseas, he said.
When the company reported better-than-expected profit growth on Friday, Immelt noted that orders in China had risen 32 percent in the second quarter, and in India by an even more dramatic 91 percent. Both nations outperformed the company's overall 24 percent rise in orders.
GE Healthcare plans to develop at least 20 new products in coming years, mostly in primary care, and will include ultrasound, patient monitoring and anesthesia machines, LeGrand said. These products will be developed for the China market, but have the potential to be exported to emerging markets.
Digital X-ray products that GE developed in China have already been sold in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, LeGrand said.
"This is the first time a global product company is moving a headquarters to China," said Rachel Duan, president and chief executive of GE Healthcare China.
"GE is continuing to expand its global footprint," she said. "As the company is going more global, it's important to be closer to our markets."
While the company has focused on the high end of the market, it is expanding to meet demand for primary care as well, Duan said.
In that vein, GE is building what it calls a customer innovation center in Chengdu, central China, one of six such centers in China that Immelt announced in Beijing late last year.
The Chengdu facility will be GE's lead R&D center for X-ray technology in China and has hired 65 engineers to work there, Duan said.
The number of employees at the Chengdu center will more than double within a year, she said.
GE Healthcare has been developing medical devices and other products for the Chinese market for more than 30 years, according to the company.
(Reporting by Terril Yue Jones, additional reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Matthew Lewis)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.