(BOSTON) — The massive restructuring announced by General Electric's new CEO on Monday could have implications for the maritime industry.
The company, now based in Boston, said it will divest its transportation business, which includes production of diesel main engines and generator sets found on tugboats and workboats across the industry.
It's too soon to know how the change will affect GE's marine engine line, according GE spokeswoman Amy Magee, who suggested the company could spin off the unit into a separate company, among other possibilities. For now, she said it is business as usual within the transportation unit and that GE will honor its customer commitments.
The company "is in the early stages of this process and exploring a multitude of possibilities that may include, among several options, creative approaches used to transition GE’s consumer finance business into Synchrony Financial or models like the Baker Hughes and GE Oil & Gas merger," Magee said.
"This move is in line with GE’s broader efforts to divest $20 billion in assets over the next few years," she continued. "The transportation business remains committed to building on its strong culture of innovation, deep domain, world-class technology and digital solutions in a way that best positions the business for growth."
Young Brothers, Harley Marine Services and Reinauer Transportation are among the companies that have chosen GE's Tier 4 engines for oceangoing tugboats. Harley Marine recently took delivery of the tugboat OneCURE powered by twin GE 6L250 Tier 4 engines.
Once GE makes a decision about the future of the transportation unit, Magee said the company will be as transparent as it can be with its employees and customers.
