GE freezes pension benefits to cut deficit by up to $8 billion

By Richard Clough and Frank Connelly
Published Updated 2 Min Read

(Bloomberg) General Electric Co. took a bold step to cut the debt hampering Chief Executive Officer Larry Culp’s effort to turn around the struggling manufacturer, freezing pension benefits for about 20,000 employees in the U.S.

The company also plans to pre-fund $4 billion to $5 billion of its estimated requirements for 2021 and 2022, according to a statement Monday. The moves will help trim the pension shortfall by $5 billion to $8 billion and reduce GE’s industrial net debt by as much as $6 billion.

Richard Clough and Frank Connelly

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