"There is nothing "predestined or inevitable about the industrial decline of the U.S., if we as a people are prepared to reverse it," he said.

GE CEO Wants More US Manufacturing
By JIM IRWIN
AP
posted: 4 HOURS 54 MINUTES AGO

BIRMINGHAM, Michigan (June 26) - The United States should aim to have manufacturing jobs comprise at least 20 percent of total employment, about twice what it is now, General Electric Co. Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt said Friday.

Speaking to the Economic Club of Detroit, Immelt outlined what he called an American industrial renewal driven by emphasis on manufacturing and exports, investment in new technology and research and development, innovations in clean energy and affordable health care.


'AAA'-Rated DowngradesPaul Sakuma, AP31 photos Since the early 1980s, 31 companies with Standard & Poor's coveted "AAA" debt rating have been downgraded, including General Electric. Click through the gallery to learn more about these companies. (illustration at source)


The U.S. has faltered as it has moved toward a service- and consumption-based economy, Immelt said. He singled out financial services, which he said comprise 45 percent of earnings of companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 index, up from 10 percent a quarter-century earlier.

American manufacturing can be reinvigorated through investment in research and development, infrastructure and training, and by fostering public-private partnerships, Immelt said.

There is nothing "predestined or inevitable about the industrial decline of the U.S., if we as a people are prepared to reverse it," he said.

"We would do much better to observe the example of China. They've been growing fast because they invest in technology and they make things. They have no intention of letting up in manufacturing in order to evolve into a service economy.

"They know where the money is and they aim to get there first," Immelt said. "America has to get back in that game."

Earlier Friday, Immelt announced GE is developing a $100 million research and development facility in Wayne County's Van Buren Township, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Detroit. About 1,200 scientists and engineers initially will be hired to develop manufacturing technologies.

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