It's Time for GE to Let Go of GE
Given the opportunity to cast the businesses from a three-way breakup in a new, independent light, the company is choosing instead to anchor them in name to the parent’s legacy.
The legacy lives on.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
General Electric Co.’s three-way breakup is meant to be a moment of rebirth for the 130-year-old industrial giant.
This is the company that commercialized modern lighting, developed the X-ray machine, invented non-reflective glass and made the silicon rubber for the boots used by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their walk on the moon in 1969. A plane powered by jet engines that GE had a hand in developing takes off every two seconds, and its power equipment helps generate one-third of the world’s electricity.