GE and Jeffrey Immelt, President Obama’s top outside economic advisor believe that by moving the headquarters of its 115-year-old medical device XRay business to Beijing, China from the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha is good for overall growth. I can only guess that the 820 employees in Waukesha, Wisconsin are absolutely giddy over the company’s future growth potential.
Although Anne LeGrand, vice president and general manager of x-ray for GE healthcare, has stated in an interview that a handful of top managers will move to the Chinese capital and there won’t be any job cuts, one has to wonder about the long-term prospects for those left behind. The company said in a statement that GE will hire 65 new engineers and support staff in China. Now let’s see, by my calculations that 65 less jobs that will be created in Waukesha.
On one hand we have a greedy American company that puts profit over country. On the other hand, you have a country whose regulatory processes and red tape make it near impossible for US based companies to compete on a global playing field. By taking those jobs to China, GE will be contributing less tax money to our government. Oh wait, I forgot they didn’t pay any taxes last year. What then is their main motivating factor? Wait a minute, I remember now, its company growth. And you know China’s got to be feeling good about that.
