General Electric Co. plans to cut its dividend by half, with the conglomerate on Monday saying the move will help its effort to drive up growth and value for shareholders. The dividend would be reduced to 12 cents a share from 24 cents a share, effective with the expected declaration of GE’s next dividend in December. “We understand the importance of this decision to our shareowners and we have not made it lightly,” said GE Chief Executive John Flannery in a statement. “We are focused on driving total shareholder return and believe this is the right decision to align our dividend payout to cash flow generation.” GE was expected to outline plans to focus on three of its biggest business lines, but stop short of a breakup or more radical restructuring.
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