The jobs picture has become so tough that some jobs that used to get shipped overseas can now come back to the U.S., General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt told CNBC Wednesday.
"[A] lot of products can be made here that [might have been] moved offshore 10 or 15 years ago because the American worker’s more competitive today," Immelt said.
It's a logical connection, particularly for products sold in the U.S., he said.
In terms of where GE decides to expand, it will be "more about markets than it is about low costs," he said.
"The types of things we make, if we globalize it’s because that’s where the market is, it’s not because it’s necessarily gonna be lower cost," Immelt said. "We can make things like gas turbines and jet engines in this country. And from a cost position standpoint they can compete with anybody in the world."
General Electric has a minority interest in NBC Universal, CNBC's parent.
A big corporation like GE, he admits, doesn't have the problems of small businesses faced with America's "self-induced volatility" including uncertainty on the debt ceiling.
The company is "going to grow where we need to grow on a global basis," Immelt said. "If you are a small business, you see some of this uncertainty you’re not going to build a new factory right now."