LG Gears Up for Expansion in the US Amid Tariff Issues, Says CEO
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Synopsis
LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan confirmed that the company is fully prepared to expand its U.S. production facilities to navigate Washington's tariff policies, with secured locations in Tennessee for appliances. Cho also discussed potential collaborations with Microsoft on AI technologies.
Key Takeaways
- LG Electronics plans to expand production in the U.S.
- New facilities will be in Tennessee.
- Preparedness against tariff policies from the U.S.
- Monitoring the situation in Russia regarding operations.
- Collaboration with Microsoft on AI technology.
Seoul, March 25 (NationPress) Cho Joo-wan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LG Electronics, announced on Tuesday that his company is fully prepared to enhance its production facilities within the United States to navigate Washington's tariff regulations.
"We have secured locations for the manufacturing of refrigerators and ovens at our Tennessee facility as a contingency plan should the U.S. impose tariffs on Mexican imports," Cho informed reporters following a shareholders meeting in Seoul, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.
"Currently, we are maintaining the site and constructing temporary structures. If these policies are enacted, we will be able to proceed without any setbacks," Cho added.
LG Electronics, which manufactures washing machines and dryers at its facility in Tennessee, is contemplating shifting some of its home appliance production from Mexico to the U.S. to evade potential tariffs.
On the topic of potentially reopening LG Electronics' production site in Moscow, Russia, Cho expressed caution due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"We are monitoring the situation closely as the war continues," he stated. "We are not taking any aggressive actions at this time. We can resume operations once sanctions are lifted."
Furthermore, he disclosed plans to meet with Satya Nadella, the Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, in Seoul later this week to discuss the details of their partnership announced in January.
Satya Nadella is anticipated to visit South Korea on Wednesday to participate in an event focused on artificial intelligence (AI).
"I am optimistic that we will collaborate on creating an AI agent, and LG Electronics' Chiller technology will be integrated into Microsoft's data centers," he mentioned. "However, we still need to finalize the scale of our contribution."
The Chiller represents LG Electronics' large-scale cooling technology crafted for significant buildings and high-energy-consuming facilities, including AI data centers, the report highlights.
