By Lauren Ohnesorge — Senior Staff Writer, Triangle Business Journal

GE Aerospace is investing nearly $1 billion in its manufacturing sites and suppliers this year, including nearly $16 million at its engine manufacturing plant in Durham.

GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) operates a 500,000-square-foot plant off Miami Boulevard that makes engines for commercial airlines. The site had just under 400 employees has of last year. The $16 million will go toward engine line assembly systems, facility upgrades and additional tooling and equipment to support growing demand for assembly of both narrowbody and widebody aircraft engines at that site, according to the company, which is based in Cincinnati.

The investment in Durham is part of a $100 million commitment across the company’s entire North Carolina operation that also includes $13 million at its West Jefferson site and $20 million at a facility in Asheville that produces engine parts. The company also has operations in Wilmington.

As for the rest of the $100 million in North Carolina, GE Aerospace did not detail how it would be used, but it’s likely some will go toward supply chain improvements.

“This investment means that North Carolina will have just as big of a role to play in the future of flight as it did in its creation,” Kristen Neubauer, site leader in Durham, said in a statement referencing the state’s status as “First in Flight” thanks to the Wright brothers in 1903.

GE Aerospace says it has committed to hire about 5,000 U.S. workers, but the company did not break down how many of those jobs would be in North Carolina.

“Investing in manufacturing and innovation is more critical than ever for the future of our industry and the communities where we operate,” said H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., Chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace, in a press release. “We are committed to helping our customers modernize and expand their fleets while scaling technologies that will truly define the future of flight. Together, this will keep the United States at the forefront of aerospace leadership.” 

It’s not uncommon for GE Aerospace to make this kind of pledge. Last year it committed to funneling $650 million into its manufacturing sites and supplier partners — a sum that included $7.6 million in Durham.

The Durham site has a long history. It was built in 1972 to manufacture steam turbines. The plant reopened in 1993 with 20 technicians on self-managing teams building the GE90 engine. For years the plant was operated by a GE segment known as GE Aviation. But when GE spun off its health care and energy companies into their own businesses, it rebranded its remaining aviation operation to GE Aerospace.

The company is actively hiring in Durham. It describes the operation in Durham as “a flat organization with multiple self-directed work teams producing the engines that power tomorrow’s commercial and military aircraft.”

The preceding article originally appeared on February 5, 2025 at the Triangle Business Journal’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Any views or opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Carolina Leadership Coalition.