GE Healthcare Moving 1,000 Employees to Waukesha Campus
GE Healthcare is consolidating two of its Milwaukee County operations into its 500-acre Waukesha campus. The move will relocate about 1,000 employees total as it vacates its offices at 9900 W. Innovation Drive in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa and its manufacturing facility at 8200 W. Tower Ave. in Milwaukee.
The transition is expected to occur in waves over the next few years as the company completes renovation of the Waukesha campus and will be complete by 2026. The Waukesha campus renovations are intended to modernize the workplace.
According to an internal memo from GE Healthcare’s president and CEO Peter Arduini said, “Some of the modernization of Waukesha will include refreshed workspaces and amenities, collaboration and conferencing technology, and a conferencing hub for large meetings. The refreshed workspaces, collaboration and focus spaces, shared amenities and other elements are part of a pilot-program that will help us determine the future of on-site working. The purpose of this is to create an energizing and dynamic workplace that represents our culture.”
Local readers may recall that in 2020, GE Healthcare moved 1,500 employees from its Waukesha campus to its West Milwaukee location at 4855 W. Electric Ave., leaving only 600 employees at the Waukesha campus. The company also put part of its property in Waukesha up for sale at that time, casting serious doubt on the future of the Waukesha campus. Arduini became president and CEO in January of 2021, and the company withdrew the real estate listing in October 2021.
In January of this year, GE Healthcare was spun off from General Electric and was listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol GEHC. It is part of the S&P 500 stock index of key companies that serve as a bellwether for the US stock markets.
Arduini first raised speculation and optimism about the Waukesha campus in September of this year when he was the keynote speaker at a Waukesha County Business Alliance event and stated that he had plans to reinvigorate the Waukesha campus and make it an innovation showcase for the company’s products and services. Although the company’s headquarters is in Chicago, Arduini noted at the event that he spends quite a bit of time at the Waukesha campus.
He noted that he was excited about the likelihood of the Waukesha-Milwaukee-Madison region winning federal designation as a biohealth technology hub, which would help invigorate a biotech ecosystem in the region. Indeed, in October the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) officially designated the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub and provided a $350,000 strategic planning grant, with the ability to apply for more than $75 million in federal funding to further develop the region’s biotechnology capabilities.
GE Healthcare has about 50,000 employees throughout the world. It is best known for its medical imaging products such as MRI and CT equipment, as well as ultrasound equipment, but the company has expanded into a wide range of technology applications beyond imaging. It has a growing portfolio of technology products and services to help healthcare organizations manage their operations, and leverage AI and medical data to assist in diagnosis and personalized care delivery.