GE continues to step up its pressures on the U.S. government to renew the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s (Ex-Im) charter, announcing today that it will invest $400 million in a turboprop engine development, test and production operation in Europe. The company, noting the new facility is expected to support between 500 and 1,000 jobs, said the move is driven by a “need to support these and other international customers with financing through government-sponsored export credit agencies.”
The announcement is the second GE has made this week regarding moving operations to a foreign country. The company on September 15 said it is transferring production of heavy-duty gas turbines and generators to Europe after the company secured a line of credit from the French export credit agency COFACE.
Congress allowed the U.S. Ex-Im Bank’s charter to lapse at the end of June and funding is set to expire at the end of this month. GE, among the chief proponents of the bank’s renewal, said it is currently bidding on $11 billion in projects that require export financing. “GE Aviation will continue to expand its operations into countries where critical export credit agency financing is available for its global customers,” the company said, noting it also is planning to invest $23 million to expand engine testing capabilities in Winnipeg and $55 million in Brazil to build a new engine test facility.
