GE Healthcare Moving 1,500 Jobs To Wauwatosa And West Milwaukee

WAUWATOSA, WI— GE Healthcare announced Wednesday that it is moving 1,500 jobs from Waukesha to Wauwatosa and West Milwaukee. The company also announced a $50 million investment in its existing West Milwaukee facility as part of its intention to "concentrate teams and resources in key facilities across Wisconsin."

The press release noted that the investment is a proposal only and a final decision would be made after required bargaining with relevant unions.

The investment in its Electric Avenue facility in West Milwaukee "will create a world class, industry-leading product development and manufacturing campus for medical imaging," the release said.

GE Healthcare also intends to bring 1,500 Wisconsin-based employees to its facilities at Electric Avenue in West Milwaukee and Research Park in Wauwatosa from elsewhere across the state in the coming years.

The company also intends to sell portions of its Waukesha campus off I-94, with most existing teams and work based there transferred to other local sites. The Magnetic Resonance (MR) buildings and teams in Waukesha will remain there, including around 600 existing jobs.

“We saw an opportunity to better use existing capacity and make significant investments that would both reaffirm our commitment to manufacturing and product development in the state, and create an advanced medtech hub in metro Milwaukee,” Tom Westrick, president and CEO, Life Care Solutions, GE Healthcare said in the release.

These proposed moves would create a global showcase for Computed Tomography (CT) wing-to-wing manufacturing and engineering by co-locating similar product and support teams to enhance collaboration and better serve healthcare providers and their patients, the release said.

“Electric Avenue was GE Healthcare’s very first site in Wisconsin in 1947, and today we’re cementing that 75-year legacy in the state for another generation,” said Mike Barber, GE Healthcare’s VP & General Manager for Platforms and Solutions said in a release.

According to the release, GE Healthcare recently acquired an 87,000 square foot facility next door to its existing Electric Avenue facility to expand the foundation for this product development and manufacturing campus.

GE Healthcare is committed to Wisconsin, which is home to several business leadership teams including healthcare products like CT, MR, X-Ray, Services, Life Care Solutions, engineering, supply chain and more.

GE Healthcare has an $8 billion annual economic impact on the state directly and indirectly, with around 6,000 employees state-wide and more than 1,000 in-state suppliers. GE Healthcare partnered closely with Wisconsin state, county and local leadership, the release said.

David Crowley, Milwaukee County Executive, added: “This is welcome news and confirmation that Wisconsin can lead when it comes to advanced manufacturing. I am proud to collaborate with companies like GE Healthcare that are making long-term investments in our region that bolster economic equity and bring opportunity to our residents. Moving forward, we will continue to work with the whole community, forward-looking villages like West Milwaukee, and partners in the business sector like GE Healthcare to grow quality jobs and continue to make our area a desirable place to live, work and raise a family.”

Paul Farrow, Waukesha County Executive and co-chair of the M7 regional economic development partnership, said: “I am excited by GE’s willingness to make a long-term commitment to our region. GE Healthcare has contributed a lot to Waukesha County, and thousands of GE employees will continue to call our county home. The proposed sale of the existing GE Healthcare campus in Waukesha will open up opportunities for new economic growth in the county, while ensuring the company’s presence, along with their hundreds of local suppliers, in Southeast Wisconsin for decades to come.”