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Worse on Purpose

GE Appliances

The GE-branded appliance business: GE, GE Profile, Cafe, Monogram. The most "American"-feeling nameplate on the floor.

Status: Watchlist
Founded
1905
Website
geappliances.com
HQ
USA
Manufacturing
USA,China,Mexico
Ownership type
Conglomerate subsidiary
Parent
Haier
Acquired
2016
Status since
2026-06-08

Ownership

Sold by General Electric to China's Qingdao Haier in 2016 for $5.6B; Haier holds the right to sell under the GE name through 2056. HQ stayed in Louisville; ownership and profit are Chinese.

Why Watchlist

Foreign-owned with a declining reliability trend: Yale first-year service rate rose to ~19.2% (2025) from 11.6% (2024). Functioning, serviceable, but moving the wrong way. Watchlist.

Sister brands under Haier

See all 4 sister brands

Read the full investigation

Investigation · June 11, 2026

Your Appliances Got Worse On Purpose

One company makes the refrigerator you'll buy under four different names. Another sells the identical window unit under nine. GE is Chinese now, Frigidaire is Swedish, and Kenmore never built anything at all. Plus the few brands still built to last.

Read the full investigation

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