89-627: The Lansing Metal Center was a General Motors foundry located in Lansing Township, Michigan , directly across Saginaw Street from the Lansing Craft Center . It was originally built as a jet engine manufacturing plant in 1952 and shuttered in 2006. Upon its closing, the plant was 1,590,000 square feet (148,000 m) in size, and employed 1,200. General Motors began the demolition of the plant in February 2008 along with
178-538: A $ 3 billion deal and also bought a $ 1.6 billion portfolio of retail credit cards from Citigroup Inc. On October 14, 2010, GE announced the acquisition of data migration & SCADA simulation specialists Opal Software. In December 2010, for the second time that year (after the Dresser acquisition), GE bought the oil sector company Wellstream , an oil pipe maker, for 800 million pounds ($ 1.3 billion). In March 2011, GE announced that it had completed
267-529: A 15% stake in AeroVironment . In 1989, GM acquired half of Saab Automobile 's car operations for $ 600 million. In August 1990, Robert Stempel became CEO of the company, succeeding Roger Smith . GM cut output significantly and suffered losses that year due to the early 1990s recession . In 1990, GM debuted the General Motors EV1 (Impact) concept, a battery electric vehicle , at
356-530: A British producer of high-performance sports cars . In 1987, in conjunction with AeroVironment , GM built the Sunraycer , which won the inaugural World Solar Challenge and was a showcase of advanced technology. Much of the technology from Sunraycer found its way into the Impact prototype electric vehicle (also built by Aerovironment) and was the predecessor to the General Motors EV1 . In 1988, GM acquired
445-510: A breakthrough in heat treating still in use today as ASTM A255. GM established Detroit Diesel the next year. In 1939, the company founded Motors Insurance Corporation and entered the vehicle insurance market. The same year, GM introduced the Hydramatic , the first affordable and successful automatic transmission , for the 1940 Oldsmobile. During World War II , GM produced vast quantities of armaments, vehicles, and aircraft for
534-482: A continuation of its diversification plans, GMAC formed GMAC Mortgage and acquired Colonial Mortgage as well as the servicing arm of Norwest Mortgage in 1985. This acquisition included an $ 11 billion mortgage portfolio. The same year, GM acquired the Hughes Aircraft Company for $ 5 billion in cash and stock and merged it into Delco Electronics . The following year, GM acquired 59.7% of Lotus Cars ,
623-957: A controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with the General Aviation Manufacturing Corporation . The GM labor force participated in the formation of the United Auto Workers labor union in 1935, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike , which initially idled two key plants in Flint, Michigan, and later spread to 6 other plants including those in Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana . In Flint, police attempted to enter
712-538: A controlling interest in the company, while GE would retain a 49% stake and would buy out shares owned by Vivendi. Vivendi would sell its 20% stake in NBCUniversal to GE for US$ 5.8 billion. Vivendi would sell 7.66% of NBCUniversal to GE for US$ 2 billion if the GE/Comcast deal was not completed by September 2010 and then sell the remaining 12.34% stake of NBCUniversal to GE for US$ 3.8 billion when
801-590: A division of GE called GE Information Systems (GEIS). The new company, named GXS , is based in Gaithersburg, Maryland . GXS is a provider of business-to-business e-commerce solutions. GE maintains a minority stake in GXS. Also in 2002, GE Wind Energy was formed when GE bought the wind turbine manufacturing assets of Enron Wind after the Enron scandals . In 2004, GE bought 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment,
890-578: A few years later with Thomson-Houston Electric Company , led by Charles Coffin . In 1887, Hart left to become superintendent of the Edison Electric Company. General Electric was formed through the 1892 merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company with the support of Drexel, Morgan & Co. The original plants of both companies continue to operate under the GE banner to this day. The General Electric business
979-515: A joint venture in steam turbines, plus a €3.1 billion cash investment. In June 2014, a formal offer from GE worth $ 17 billion was agreed by the Alstom board. Part of the transaction involved the French government taking a 20% stake in Alstom to help secure France's energy and transport interests and French jobs. A rival offer from Siemens Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was rejected. The acquisition
SECTION 10
#17327878628331068-467: A long-time Edison supporter and investor, proposed to consolidate all of business interests. The proposal was supported by Samuel Insull - who served as his secretary and, later, financier - as well other investors. In 1889, Drexel, Morgan & Co. —a company founded by J.P. Morgan and Anthony J. Drexel —financed Edison's research and helped merge several of Edison's separate companies under one corporation, forming Edison General Electric Company, which
1157-521: A manufacturer of dynamos and large electric motors in Schenectady, New York ; Bergmann & Company, a manufacturer of electric lighting fixtures , sockets , and other electric lighting devices; and Edison Electric Light Company, the patent -holding company and financial arm for Edison's lighting experiments, backed by J. P. Morgan (1837–1913) and the Vanderbilt family . Henry Villard,
1246-524: A namesake defense vehicles division which produces military vehicles for the United States government and military, the vehicle safety, security, and information services provider OnStar , the auto parts company ACDelco , a namesake financial lending service , and majority ownership in the self-driving cars enterprise Cruise LLC . The company originated as a holding company for Buick established on September 16, 1908, by William C. Durant ,
1335-542: A program to develop a lightweight two-stroke diesel engine for possible usage in automobiles. Soon after, GM acquired Electro-Motive Company and the Winton Engine Co. , and in 1941, it expanded EMC's realm to locomotive engine manufacturing. In 1932, GM acquired Packard Electric (not to be confused with the Packard car company, which merged with Studebaker years later). The following year, GM acquired
1424-422: A strategy by CEO Roger Smith to derive at least 10% of its annual worldwide revenue from non-automotive sources. GM also intended to have EDS handle its bookkeeping, help computerize factories, and integrate GM's computer systems. The transaction made Ross Perot the largest shareholder of GM; however, disagreements with Roger Smith led the company to buy all shares held by Ross Perot for $ 750 million in 1986. In
1513-569: Is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet , Buick , GMC , and Cadillac . By total sales, it has continuously been the largest automaker in the United States, and was the largest in the world for 77 years before losing the top spot to Toyota in 2008. General Motors operates manufacturing plants in eight countries. In addition to its four core brands, GM also holds interests in Chinese brands Baojun and Wuling via SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile . GM further owns
1602-521: Is one of GE's four multifunctional shared services centers worldwide in Pudong , China; Budapest , Hungary; and Monterrey , Mexico. In April 2015, GE announced its intention to sell off its property portfolio, worth $ 26.5 billion, to Wells Fargo and The Blackstone Group . It was announced in April 2015 that GE would sell most of its finance unit and return around $ 90 billion to shareholders as
1691-589: The Fortune 500 as the 33rd largest firm in the United States by gross revenue . In 2023, the company was ranked 64th in the Forbes Global 2000 . In 2011, GE ranked among the Fortune 20 as the 14th most profitable company, but later very severely underperformed the market (by about 75%) as its profitability collapsed. Two employees of GE— Irving Langmuir (1932) and Ivar Giaever (1973)—have been awarded
1780-510: The Fortune 500 and 50th on the Fortune Global 500 . In 2023, the company was ranked 70th in the Forbes Global 2000 . In 2021, GM announced its intent to end production of vehicles using internal combustion engines by 2035, as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. By 1900, William C. Durant 's Durant-Dort Carriage Company of Flint, Michigan , had become the largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in
1869-549: The 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe , GMC Yukon , Cadillac Escalade , and pickup trucks . General Electric General Electric Company ( GE ) was an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the state of New York and headquartered in Boston . The company had several divisions, including aerospace , energy , healthcare , and finance . In 2020, GE ranked among
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#17327878628331958-848: The Allies of World War II . In 1940, GM's William S. Knudsen served as head of U.S. wartime production for President Franklin Roosevelt , and by 1942, all of GM's production was to support the war. GM's Vauxhall Motors manufactured the Churchill tank series for the Allies, instrumental in the North African campaign . However, its Opel division, based in Germany, supplied the Wehrmacht with vehicles. Politically, Sloan, as head of GM at
2047-522: The Cadillac V8-6-4 variable-cylinder engines. GM sold Frigidaire in 1979. Although Frigidaire had between $ 450 million and $ 500 million in annual revenues, it was losing money. Robert Lee of GM invented the neodymium magnet , which was fabricated by rapid solidification, in 1984. This magnet is commonly used in products like a computer hard disk. The same year, GM acquired Electronic Data Systems for $ 2.5 billion from Ross Perot as part of
2136-569: The DATANET-30 and Datanet 355 message switching computers (DATANET-30 and 355 were also used as front end processors for GE mainframe computers). A Datanet 500 computer was designed but never sold. In 1956 Homer Oldfield had been promoted to General Manager of GE's Computer Department. He facilitated the invention and construction of the Bank of America ERMA system, the first computerized system designed to read magnetized numbers on checks. But he
2225-520: The General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), which provides financing to automotive customers, was formed. In 1920, du Pont orchestrated the removal of Durant once again and replaced him with Alfred P. Sloan . At a time when GM was competing heavily with Ford Motor Company , Sloan established annual model changes, making previous years' models "dated" and created a market for used cars . He also implemented
2314-682: The LA Auto Show . It was the first car with zero emissions marketed in the US in over three decades. The Impact was produced as the EV1 for the 1996 model year and was available only via lease from certain dealers in California and Arizona. In 1999–2002, GM ceased production of the vehicles and started to not renew the leases, disappointing many people, allegedly because the program would not be profitable and would cannibalize its existing business. All of
2403-505: The Multics operating system on the GE 645 mainframe computer. The project took longer than expected and was not a major commercial success, but it demonstrated concepts such as single-level storage , dynamic linking , hierarchical file system , and ring-oriented security . Active development of Multics continued until 1985. GE got into computer manufacturing because, in the 1950s, they were
2492-577: The NBC television network for $ 6.28 billion; this merger surpassed the Capital Cities/ABC merger from earlier that year as the largest non-oil company merger in world business history. The remainder of RCA's divisions and assets were sold to various companies, including Bertelsmann Music Group which acquired RCA Records . Thomson SA , which licensed the manufacture of RCA and GE branded electronics, traced its roots to Thomson-Houston, one of
2581-561: The National Broadcasting Company (NBC), which built two radio broadcasting networks. In 1930, General Electric was charged with antitrust violations and was ordered to divest itself of RCA. In 1927, Ernst Alexanderson of GE made the first demonstration of television broadcast reception at his General Electric Realty Plot home at 1132 Adams Road in Schenectady, New York. On January 13, 1928, he made what
2670-577: The Nobel Prize . Following the Great Recession of the late 2000s decade, General Electric began selling off various divisions and assets, including its appliances and financial capital divisions, under Jeff Immelt 's leadership as CEO. John Flannery, Immelt's replacement in 2017, further divested General Electric's assets in locomotives and lighting in order to focus the company more on aviation. After restrictions on air travel during
2759-567: The Rapid Motor Vehicle Company of Pontiac, Michigan , and the Reliance Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan (predecessors of GMC ) in 1909. Durant, with the board's approval, also tried acquiring Ford Motor Company , but needed an additional $ 2 million. Durant over- leveraged GM in making acquisitions, and was removed by the board of directors in 1910 at the order of the bankers who backed
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2848-765: The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company the same year, and its president, John D. Hertz , joined the board of directors of GM; it acquired the remainder of the company in 1943. In 1926, the company introduced the Pontiac brand and established the General Motors Group Insurance Program to provide life insurance to its employees. The following year, after the success of the 1927 model of the Cadillac LaSalle designed by Harley Earl , Sloan created
2937-472: The corporate spin-off of Electronic Data Systems . In 1997, GM sold the military businesses of Hughes Aircraft Company to Raytheon Company for $ 9.5 billion in stock and the assumption of debt. In February 2000, Rick Wagoner was named CEO, succeeding Smith. The next month, GM gave 5.1% of its common stock, worth $ 2.4 billion, to acquire a 20% share of Fiat . In December 2000, GM announced that it would begin phasing out Oldsmobile . The brand
3026-647: The transmission of electrical power . In 1896, General Electric was one of the original 12 companies listed on the newly formed Dow Jones Industrial Average , where it remained a part of the index for 122 years, though not continuously. In 1911, General Electric absorbed the National Electric Lamp Association (NELA) into its lighting business. GE established its lighting division headquarters at Nela Park in East Cleveland, Ohio . The lighting division has since remained in
3115-537: The "Art and Color Section" of GM and named Earl as its first director. Earl was the first design executive to be appointed to leadership at a major American corporation. Earl created a system of automobile design that is still practiced today. At the age of 24, Bill Mitchell was recruited by Earl to the design team at GM, and he was later appointed as Chief Designer of Cadillac. After Earl retired in December 1958, Mitchell took over automotive design for GM. Also in 1926
3204-399: The 9HA. After the break, GE developed new protective coatings and heat treatment methods. Gas turbines represent a significant portion of GE Power's revenue, and also represent a significant portion of the power generation fleet of several utility companies in the United States. Chubu Electric of Japan and Électricité de France also had units that were impacted. Initially, GE did not realize
3293-540: The COVID-19 pandemic caused General Electric's revenue to fall significantly in 2020, GE's final CEO Larry Culp announced in November 2021 that General Electric was to be broken up into three separate, public companies— GE Aerospace , GE HealthCare , and GE Vernova —by 2024. The new companies are respectively focused on aerospace, healthcare, and energy. GE HealthCare's spin-off was finalized on January 4, 2023. This
3382-656: The Denver television station until in 1986, when General Electric bought out RCA and made it into an owned-and-operated station by NBC . It even stayed on until 1995 when it was transferred to a joint venture between CBS and Group W in a swap deal, alongside KUTV in Salt Lake City for longtime CBS O&O in Philadelphia, WCAU-TV . Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license . Led by Sanford Alexander Moss , GE moved into
3471-588: The EV1s were eventually returned to General Motors, and except for around 40 which were donated to museums with their electric powertrains deactivated, all were destroyed. The documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car? covered the EV1 story. In November 1992, John F. Smith Jr. became CEO of the company. In 1993, GM sold Lotus Cars to Bugatti . In 1996, in a return to its automotive basics, GM completed
3560-553: The Lansing Craft Center, when all operations were transferred to the nearby Lansing Delta Township facility. 42°44′14.9″N 84°34′58.6″W / 42.737472°N 84.582944°W / 42.737472; -84.582944 General Motors General Motors Company ( GM ) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit , Michigan, United States. The company
3649-529: The U.S. Army Air Corps to select GE to develop the nation's first jet engine during the war. This experience, in turn, made GE a natural selection to develop the Whittle W.1 jet engine that was demonstrated in the United States in 1941. GE was ranked ninth among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. However, their early work with Whittle's designs was later handed to Allison Engine Company . GE Aviation then emerged as one of
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3738-520: The U.S. and Canada. The exact terms of the sale were not disclosed, but the final price would be based on the value of the assets at closing, plus a premium according to the parties. In October 2015, activist investor Nelson Peltz 's fund Trian bought a $ 2.5 billion stake in the company. In January 2016, Haier acquired GE's appliance division for $ 5.4 billion. In October 2016, GE Renewable Energy agreed to pay €1.5 billion to Doughty Hanson & Co for LM Wind Power during 2017. At
3827-684: The United States. Durant was averse to automobiles, but fellow Flint businessman James H. Whiting , owner of Flint Wagon Works , sold him the Buick Motor Company in 1904. Durant formed the General Motors Company in 1908 as a holding company , borrowing a naming convention from General Electric . GM's first acquisition was Buick , which Durant already owned, then Olds Motor Works on November 12, 1908. Under Durant, GM went on to acquire Cadillac , Elmore , Welch , Cartercar , Oakland (the predecessor of Pontiac ),
3916-443: The acquisition of Hydril Pressure & Control in 2008 for $ 1.1 billion. GE Plastics was sold in 2008 to SABIC (Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation). In May 2008, GE announced it was exploring options for divesting the bulk of its consumer and industrial business. On December 3, 2009, it was announced that NBCUniversal would become a joint venture between GE and cable television operator Comcast . Comcast would hold
4005-459: The acquisition of privately held Lineage Power Holdings from The Gores Group . In April 2011, GE announced it had completed its purchase of John Wood plc's Well Support Division for $ 2.8 billion. In 2011, GE Capital sold its $ 2 billion Mexican assets to Santander for $ 162 million and exited the business in Mexico. Santander additionally assumed the portfolio debts of GE Capital in
4094-452: The company acquired Fisher Body , its supplier of automobile bodies. GM acquired Allison Engine Company and began developing a 1,000 horsepower liquid-cooled aircraft engine in 1929. The same year, GM acquired 80% of Opel , which at that time had a 37.5% market share in Europe, for $ 26 million. It acquired the remaining 20% in 1931. In the late-1920s, Charles Kettering embarked on
4183-800: The company expanded into cable with the launch of a franchise, which was awarded to a non-exclusive franchise in Schenectady through subsidiary General Electric Cablevision Corporation. On February 15, 1965, General Electric expanded its holdings in order to acquire more television stations to meet the maximum limit of the FCC, and more cable holdings through subsidiaries General Electric Broadcasting Company and General Electric Cablevision Corporation. The company also owned television stations such as KOA-TV (now KCNC-TV ) in Denver and WSIX-TV (later WNGE-TV, now WKRN ) in Nashville, but like WRGB, General Electric sold off most of its broadcasting holdings, but held on to
4272-480: The company in 1915 after a disagreement with Durant. GM was reincorporated in Detroit in 1916 as General Motors Corporation and became a public company via an initial public offering . By 1917, Chevrolet had become successful enough that Durant, with the backing of Samuel McLaughlin and Pierre S. du Pont , reacquired a controlling interest in GM. The same year, GM acquired Samson Tractor . Chevrolet Motor Company
4361-404: The company was renamed back to Baker Hughes. In May 2017, GE had signed $ 15 billion of business deals with Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia is one of GE's largest customers. In September 2017, GE announced the sale of its Industrial Solutions Business to ABB . The deal closed on June 30, 2018. On August 15, 2019, Harry Markopolos , a financial fraud investigator known for his discovery of
4450-630: The company's longtime stake in television and film media. In April 2013, GE acquired oilfield pump maker Lufkin Industries for $ 2.98 billion. In April 2014, it was announced that GE was in talks to acquire the global power division of French engineering group Alstom for a figure of around $ 13 billion. A rival joint bid was submitted in June 2014 by Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) with Siemens seeking to acquire Alstom's gas turbine business for €3.9 billion, and MHI proposing
4539-531: The country. Following this, GE Capital focused on its core business and shed its non-core assets. In June 2012, CEO and President of GE Jeff Immelt said that the company would invest ₹ 3 billion to accelerate its businesses in Karnataka . In October 2012, GE acquired $ 7 billion worth of bank deposits from MetLife Inc . On March 19, 2013, Comcast bought GE's shares in NBCU for $ 16.7 billion, ending
SECTION 50
#17327878628334628-520: The deal was completed or to the public via an IPO if the deal was not completed. On March 1, 2010, GE announced plans to sell its 20.85% stake in Turkey-based Garanti Bank. In August 2010, GE Healthcare signed a strategic partnership to bring cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CT) technology from start-up Arineta Ltd. of Israel to the hospital market. In October 2010, GE acquired gas engines manufacturer Dresser Industries in
4717-716: The diesel-hybrid market, the Opel Astra diesel engine hybrid concept vehicle was rolled out in January 2005. Later that year, GM sold its Electro-Motive Diesel locomotive division to private equity firms Berkshire Partners and Greenbriar Equity Group. GM paid $ 2 billion to sever its ties with Fiat in 2005, severing ties with the company due to an increasingly contentious dispute. GM began adding its " Mark of Excellence " emblem on all new vehicles produced and sold in North America in mid-2005. However, after
4806-426: The end of October 2016, it was announced that GE was under negotiations for a deal valued at about $ 30 billion to combine GE Oil & Gas with Baker Hughes . The transaction would create a publicly traded entity controlled by GE. It was announced that GE Oil & Gas would sell off its water treatment business, GE Water & Process Technologies, as part of its divestment agreement with Baker Hughes. The deal
4895-637: The firm looked to trim down on its holdings and rid itself of its image of a "hybrid" company, working in both banking and manufacturing. In August 2015, GE Capital agreed to sell its Healthcare Financial Services business to Capital One for US$ 9 billion. The transaction involved US$ 8.5 billion of loans made to a wide array of sectors, including senior housing, hospitals, medical offices, outpatient services, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Also in August 2015, GE Capital agreed to sell GE Capital Bank's on-line deposit platform to Goldman Sachs . Terms of
4984-482: The first hydrogen fuel cell car ever produced. Though fuel cells have existed since the early 1800s, General Motors was the first to use a fuel cell, supplied by Union Carbide , to power the wheels of a vehicle with a budget of "millions of dollars". In the 1960s, GM was an early proponent of V6 engines , but quickly lost interest as the popularity of muscle cars increased. GM demonstrated gas turbine vehicles powered by kerosene , an area of interest throughout
5073-497: The gasoline was harmful to various biological organisms including humans. Evidence shows that corporate executives understood the health implications of tetraethyllead from the beginning. As an engineer for GM, Midgley also developed chlorofluorocarbons , which have now been banned due to their contribution to climate change . Under the encouragement of GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr., GM acquired Vauxhall Motors for $ 2.5 million in 1925. The company also acquired an interest in
5162-664: The industry, but abandoned the alternative engine configuration due to the 1973 oil crisis . In partnership with Boeing , GM's Delco Defense Electronics Division designed the Lunar Roving Vehicle , which traversed the surface of the Moon, in 1971. The following year, GM produced the first rear wheel anti-lock braking system for two models: the Toronado and Eldorado. In 1973, the Oldsmobile Toronado
5251-527: The largest seller of horse-drawn vehicles at the time. The first half of the 20th century saw the company grow into an automotive behemoth through acquisitions; going into the second half, the company pursued innovation and new offerings to consumers as well as collaborations with NASA to develop the earliest electric vehicles . The current entity was established in 2009 after the General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization . As of 2024 , General Motors ranks 25th by total revenue out of all American companies on
5340-440: The largest user of computers outside the United States federal government , aside from being the first business in the world to own a computer. Its major appliance manufacturing plant " Appliance Park " was the first non-governmental site to host one. However, in 1970, GE sold its computer division to Honeywell , exiting the computer manufacturing industry, though it retained its timesharing operations for some years afterward. GE
5429-459: The loans to keep GM in business. The action of the bankers was partially influenced by the Panic of 1910–1911 that followed the earlier enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 . In 1911, Charles F. Kettering of Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) and Henry M. Leland invented and patented the first electric starter in America. In November 1911, Durant co-founded Chevrolet with race car driver Louis Chevrolet , who left
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#17327878628335518-452: The new field of aircraft turbo superchargers . This technology also led to the development of industrial gas turbine engines used for power production. GE introduced the first set of superchargers during World War I and continued to develop them during the interwar period . Superchargers became indispensable in the years immediately before World War II. GE supplied 300,000 turbo superchargers for use in fighter and bomber engines. This work led
5607-496: The original components of GE. Also in 1986, Kidder, Peabody & Co. , a U.S.-based securities firm, was sold to GE and following heavy losses was sold to PaineWebber in 1994. In 1997, Genpact was founded as a unit of General Electric in Gurgaon . The company was founded as GE Capital International Services (GECIS). In the beginning, GECIS created processes for outsourcing back-office activities for GE Capital such as processing car loans and credit card transactions. It
5696-502: The parent of Universal Pictures from Vivendi . Vivendi bought 20% of NBC, forming the company NBCUniversal . GE then owned 80% of NBCUniversal and Vivendi owned 20%. In 2004, GE completed the spin-off of most of its mortgage and life insurance assets into an independent company, Genworth Financial , based in Richmond, Virginia . In May 2007, GE acquired Smiths Aerospace for $ 4.8 billion. Also in 2007, GE Oil & Gas acquired Vetco Gray for $ 1.9 billion, followed by
5785-433: The plant to arrest strikers, leading to violence; in other cities, the plants were shuttered peacefully. The strike was resolved on February 11, 1937, when GM recognized the UAW as the exclusive bargaining representative for its workers and gave workers a 5% raise and permission to speak in the lunchroom. Walter E. Jominy and A.L. Boegehold of GM invented the Jominy end-quench test for hardenability of carbon steel in 1937,
5874-528: The pricing strategy used by car companies today. The pricing strategy had Chevrolet , Pontiac , Oldsmobile , Buick , and Cadillac priced from least expensive to most, respectively. In 1921, Thomas Midgley Jr. , an engineer for GM, discovered tetraethyllead (leaded gasoline) as an antiknock agent, and GM patented the compound because ethanol could not be patented. This led to the development of higher compression engines resulting in more power and efficiency. The public later realized that lead contained in
5963-452: The remedies proposed by GE were insufficient to resolve the competition concerns resulting from the proposed acquisition of Honeywell". On June 27, 2014, GE partnered with collaborative design company Quirky to announce its connected LED bulb called Link. The Link bulb is designed to communicate with smartphones and tablets using a mobile app called Wink . In December 1985, GE reacquired the RCA Corporation , primarily to gain ownership of
6052-487: The reorganization in 2009, the company no longer added the logo, saying that emphasis on its four core divisions would downplay the GM logo. In 2005, Edward T. Welburn was promoted to the newly created position of vice president, GM Global Design, making him the first African American to lead a global automotive design organization and the highest-ranking African American in the US motor industry at that time. On July 1, 2016, he retired from General Motors after 44 years. He
6141-500: The same location. Owen D. Young, who was then GE's general counsel and vice president, through GE, founded the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1919. This came after Young, while working with senior naval officers, purchased the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America , which was a subsidiary of the British company Marconi Wireless and Signal Company. He aimed to expand international radio communications. GE used RCA as its retail arm for radio sales. In 1926, RCA co-founded
6230-401: The time, and GE increased engineering and supplies for the Wind Division and doubled the annual sales to $ 1.2 billion in 2003. It acquired ScanWind in 2009. In 2018, GE Power garnered press attention when a model 7HA gas turbine in Texas was shut down for two months due to the break of a turbine blade . This model uses similar blade technology to GE's newest and most efficient model,
6319-449: The time, was an ardent opponent of the New Deal , which bolstered labor unions and public transport . Sloan admired and supported Adolf Hitler . Nazi armaments chief Albert Speer allegedly said in 1977 that Hitler "would never have considered invading Poland" without synthetic fuel technology provided by General Motors. GM was compensated $ 32 million by the U.S. government because its German factories were bombed by U.S. forces during
6408-596: The transaction were not disclosed, but the sale included US$ 8 billion of on-line deposits and another US$ 8 billion of brokered certificates of deposit. The sale was part of GE's strategic plan to exit the U.S. banking sector and to free itself from tightening banking regulations. GE also aimed to shed its status as a "systematically important financial institution". In September 2015, GE Capital agreed to sell its transportation finance unit to Canada's Bank of Montreal . The unit sold had US$ 8.7 billion (CA$ 11.5 billion) of assets, 600 employees, and 15 offices in
6497-504: The turbine blade issue of the 9FB unit would impact the new HA units. GE was one of the eight major computer companies of the 1960s along with IBM , Burroughs , NCR , Control Data Corporation , Honeywell , RCA , and UNIVAC . GE had a line of general purpose and special purpose computers, including the GE 200 , GE 400 , and GE 600 series general-purpose computers, the GE/PAC 4000 series real-time process control computers, and
6586-518: The war. Effective January 28, 1953, Charles Erwin Wilson , then GM president, was named by Dwight D. Eisenhower as United States Secretary of Defense . In December 1953, GM acquired Euclid Trucks , a manufacturer of heavy equipment for earthmoving , including dump trucks , loaders and wheel tractor-scrapers , which later spawned the Terex brand. Alfred P. Sloan retired as chairman and
6675-516: The world's largest engine manufacturers, bypassing the British company Rolls-Royce plc . Some consumers boycotted GE light bulbs, refrigerators, and other products during the 1980s and 1990s. The purpose of the boycott was to protest against GE's role in nuclear weapons production. In 2002, GE acquired the wind power assets of Enron during its bankruptcy proceedings. Enron Wind was the only surviving U.S. manufacturer of large wind turbines at
6764-606: Was a major provider of computer time-sharing services through General Electric Information Services (GEIS, now GXS), offering online computing services that included GEnie . In 2000, when United Technologies Corp. planned to buy Honeywell, GE made a counter-offer that was approved by Honeywell. On July 3, 2001, the European Union issued a statement that "prohibit the proposed acquisition by General Electric Co. of Honeywell Inc.". The reasons given were it "would create or strengthen dominant positions on several markets and that
6853-602: Was an experimental concept at the time and the beginning of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. GE sold 60% stake in Genpact to General Atlantic and Oak Hill Capital Partners in 2005 and hived off Genpact into an independent business. GE is still a major client to Genpact today for services in customer service, finance, information technology, and analytics. In 2001, GE acquired Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo and incorporated it into NBC. In 2002, Francisco Partners and Norwest Venture Partners acquired
6942-666: Was cleared by the EU in May 2017, and by the United States Department of Justice in June 2017. The merger agreement was approved by shareholders at the end of June 2017. On July 3, 2017, the transaction was completed, and Baker Hughes became a GE company and was renamed Baker Hughes, a GE Company (BHGE). In November 2018, GE reduced its stake in Baker Hughes to 50.4%. On October 18, 2019, GE reduced its stake to 36.8% and
7031-490: Was consolidated into GM on May 2, 1918, and the same year GM acquired United Motors , a parts supplier founded by Durant and headed by Alfred P. Sloan for $ 45 million, and the McLaughlin Motor Car Company , founded by R. S. McLaughlin , became General Motors of Canada Limited. In 1919, GM acquired Guardian Frigerator Company , part-owned by Durant, which was renamed Frigidaire . Also in 1919,
7120-560: Was eventually discontinued in 2004, seven years after it had become the first American car brand to turn 100. In May 2004, GM delivered the first full-sized pickup truck hybrid vehicles , the 1/2-ton Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra trucks. These mild hybrids did not use electrical energy for propulsion, like GM's later designs. Later, the company debuted another hybrid technology, co-developed with DaimlerChrysler and BMW , in diesel-electric hybrid powertrain manufactured by Allison Transmission for transit buses. Continuing to target
7209-618: Was expected to be completed in 2015. In October 2014, GE announced it was considering the sale of its Polish banking business Bank BPH . Later in 2014, General Electric announced plans to open its global operations center in Cincinnati , Ohio. The Global Operations Center opened in October 2016 as home to GE's multifunctional shared services organization. It supports the company's finance/accounting, human resources, information technology, supply chain, legal and commercial operations, and
7298-608: Was fired from GE in 1958 by Ralph J. Cordiner for overstepping his bounds and successfully gaining the ERMA contract. Cordiner was strongly against GE entering the computer business because he did not see the potential in it. In 1962, GE started developing its GECOS (later renamed GCOS) operating system , originally for batch processing , but later extended to time-sharing and transaction processing . Versions of GCOS are still in use today. From 1964 to 1969, GE and Bell Laboratories (which soon dropped out) joined with MIT to develop
7387-529: Was followed by the spin-off of GE's portfolio of energy businesses on April 2, 2024, into GE Vernova. Following these transactions, General Electric Company changed its trading name to GE Aerospace, pivoted to aviation, and ceased to exist as a conglomerate. During 1889, Thomas Edison (1847–1931) had business interests in many electricity-related companies, including Edison Lamp Company, a lamp manufacturer in East Newark, New Jersey ; Edison Machine Works ,
7476-663: Was incorporated in New York on April 24, 1889. The new company acquired Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Company in the same year. The consolidation did not involve all of the companies established by Edison; notably, the Edison Illuminating Company , which would later become Consolidated Edison , was not part of the merger. In 1880, Gerald Waldo Hart formed the American Electric Company of New Britain, Connecticut , which merged
7565-457: Was incorporated in New York, with the Schenectady plant used as headquarters for many years thereafter. Around the same time, General Electric's Canadian counterpart, Canadian General Electric , was formed. In 1893, General Electric bought the business of Rudolf Eickemeyer in Yonkers, New York , along with all of its patents and designs. Eickemeyer's firm had developed transformers for use in
7654-566: Was replaced by Michael Simcoe . In 2006, GM introduced a bright yellow fuel cap on its vehicles to remind drivers that cars can operate using E85 ethanol fuel . They also introduced another hybrid vehicle that year, the Saturn Vue Green Line . In 2008, General Motors committed to engineering half of its manufacturing plants to be landfill-free by recycling or reusing waste in the manufacturing process. Continuing their environmental-conscious development, GM started to offer
7743-433: Was said to be the first broadcast to the public in the United States on GE's W2XAD : the pictures were picked up on 1.5 square inches (9.7 square centimeters) screens in the homes of four GE executives. The sound was broadcast on GE's WGY (AM) . Experimental television station W2XAD evolved into the station WRGB , which, along with WGY and WGFM (now WRVE ), was owned and operated by General Electric until 1983. In 1965,
7832-556: Was succeeded by Albert Bradley in April 1956. In 1962, GM introduced the first ever turbocharged production car in the world in the Oldsmobile Cutlass Turbo-Jetfire. Two years later, the company introduced its " Mark of Excellence " logo and trademark at the 1964 New York World's Fair . The company used the mark as their main corporate identifier until 2021. GM released the Electrovan in 1966,
7921-502: Was the first retail car sold with a passenger airbag . Thomas Murphy became CEO of the company, succeeding Richard C. Gerstenberg in November 1974. GM installed its first catalytic converters in its 1975 models. From 1978 to 1985, GM pushed the benefits of diesel engines and cylinder deactivation technologies. However, it had disastrous results due to poor durability in the Oldsmobile diesels and drivability issues in
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