GE HealthCare to consolidate Milwaukee and Wauwatosa operations in Waukesha

Over the next several years, GE HealthCare plans to move operations at locations in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa to Waukesha, affecting roughly 1,000 workers.

The company made the announcement to employees Wednesday, saying the move will happen “in waves” over the next few years as it works to modernize its Waukesha location.

According to a spokesperson, the Wauwatosa location is primarily used as office space. GE HealthCare’s diagnostic cardiology and remote patient monitoring research and development, lab, engineering and leadership teams are also at that site. In Milwaukee, the spokesperson said, GE HealthCare has patient care solutions employees and a data center.

In a message to employees this week, company president and chief executive officer Peter Arduini said the firm plans to transform the Waukesha campus into a “vibrant hub” that will serve as the “heartbeat” of GE HealthCare’s Wisconsin operations.

“We’re excited to make this investment in you and our full Milwaukee-area team to transform the workplace experience, build a revitalized campus community and foster collaboration in a way that fuels future innovation,” he said.

GE HealthCare is based in Chicago, but has 5,200 employees in Wisconsin. The company researches, designs, develops and manufactures equipment for the health care industry.

It’s also one of the organizations that worked with the state to help advocate for a federal biohealth tech hub designation, which Wisconsin received in October.

GE HealthCare plans to continue leasing its Wauwatosa site at the Milwaukee County Research Park through the end of 2026, “after all product registrations are finalized for the new Waukesha addresses,” Arduini said.

A spokesperson said the company does not plan on selling its Tower Avenue facility in Milwaukee, which will continue to house the data center, but the patient care solutions employees are expected to move to the Waukesha campus.

“Some of the modernization of Waukesha will include refreshed workspaces and amenities, collaboration and conferencing technology, and a conferencing hub for large meetings,” Ardruini said. He said those changes are “part of a pilot-program that will help us determine the future of on-site working.”

A spokesperson said more than half of GE HealthCare’s Wisconsin employees are already in Waukesha.

The company also manufactures tubes and detectors for imaging devices in the Village of West Milwaukee, as well as produces anesthesia, ventilators and incubators in Madison. Those facilities will not be affected by the consolidation.

In 2020, they announced expansion plans at the West Milwaukee site. The company is also planning a 40,000-square-foot expansion to the east of its building in West Milwaukee.

In January, GE HealthCare finalized a split from General Electric to become its own company.