NEW YORK (AFP) – Once-dominant industrial giant General Electric announced yesterday it will shed its healthcare business to concentrate on power and aviation, in the latest attempt to shore up the struggling company.
After a year-long strategic review, “GE will focus on Aviation, Power and Renewable Energy, creating a simpler, stronger, leading high-tech Industrial company,” the company said in a statement.
It also will “fully separate” its interest in oil services firm Baker Hughes (BHGE), of which it holds 62.5 percent.
The plan is to “separate GE Healthcare into a standalone company, pursue an orderly separation from BHGE over the next two to three years, make its corporate structure leaner and substantially reduce debt.”
GE chief John Flannery said the company is “aggressively driving forward as an aviation, power and renewable energy company – three highly complementary businesses poised for future growth.”
The restructuring will “make GE simpler and stronger,” he said.
