This Popular US Kitchen Appliance Brand Is Actually Owned By A Chinese Company

Walk into almost any kitchen in the U.S. and you're likely to spot a familiar logo on the fridge, oven, or microwave: GE. If you're familiar at all with the brand General Electric, it has a distinctly American history, beginning with renowned inventor Thomas Edison and his life-changing lightbulb. While it's not the oldest kitchen appliance brand, the pioneering company helped bring electric light, power, and modern infrastructure into homes, factories, and cities. It's safe to say this electrification boom had a profound affect on society, and GE went on to be the titan of technological advances in the 20th century. Cut to 2016, when Haier, a multinational appliance company headquartered in Qingdao, China, acquired GE's appliance division for $5.6 billion.

What made this quintessentially American kitchen appliance brand decide to sell? It certainly wasn't because it wasn't profitable. But the company wasn't just about lightbulbs anymore; like so many corporations, it had spawned into a multi-conglomerate with fingers in every pie made up of finance, aerospace, media, and healthcare. The appliance world wasn't going anywhere, but shareholders and CEOs wanted bigger, more flashier investments like aircraft engines and medical technology. Thus, the refrigerator had to be dumped. It first entered negotiations with Electrolux, a Swedish appliance maker, but pulled out last minute to go with the higher bidder. As one can imagine, the deal wasn't beloved by all. For many in the company, and consumers, it came as a shock and sparked familiar anxieties about globalization, foreign ownership, and the future of American manufacturing.

At the time, it was one of the most high-profile Chinese purchases of a U.S. consumer brand. And GE is certainly not the first popular American brand to be bought out by a Chinese company. So what's changed since then? It's not all doom and gloom. The brand is still headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, where its campus continues to employ thousands of workers. Haier has actually put its money where its mouth is by investing in its U.S. operations, pouring billions into modernization, new factories, and expanded product lines. In 2025, it announced plans to move production from China to Kentucky with a whopping $490 million investment in just the production of clothes washers at the global headquarters lovingly called "Appliance Park."

As far as the appliances maintaining the same quality, consumers have mixed opinions. Haier may be one of the world's largest home appliance manufacturers, but many experts suggest avoiding any of its kitchen appliance brands, citing underperformance and frequent breakdowns. The brand doesn't seem to be slowing down, as it continued its global expansion by purchasing well-known brands in both Europe and New Zealand, and, similar to GE, keeping its local leadership and production in place. For many consumers, they're not aware of the ownership change. It certainly hasn't changed what they see on the sales floor of Home Depot and Lowe's. You just won't see Haier splashed across the front of a refrigerator, and that's intentional.