(Reuters) - South Korea's LG Electronics Inc said it would spend $250 million to build a new factory in the United States, in a move that comes amid criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump about companies manufacturing abroad for U.S. consumers.
The U.S. administration has threatened an import tax, and Trump has attacked some of the world's biggest companies, triggering many to make promises to invest more in the United States.
LG rival Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) Co Ltd was also considering building a U.S. manufacturing plant as a response to criticisms about imports from Trump, a source told Reuters earlier this month.
LG said its new U.S. plant, an 829,000-square-foot facility to be located near Clarksville, Tennessee, will employ 600 full-time workers and produce washing machines starting in 2019.
LG expects the vast majority of washers for U.S. consumers to be made in the Clarksville plant. Its washing machines sold in the United States have so far been made in Korea, China, Vietnam and Thailand.
The plant will have the capacity to expand to make other home appliances as well as commercial washers, the company said.
LG will receive support for construction as well as tax and other incentives, under agreements with the State of Tennessee.