If you can’t stand the heat, sell off what’s in the kitchen. General Electric, having watched its shares dive after some shocking first-quarter results, plans to ditch its fridges and toasters to regain some momentum.

Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive, evidently hopes to make a splash with shareholders. Certainly, the decision to auction GE’s appliances business is heavy with symbolism. Doing so will close the book on more than a century of history, taking GE out of a business that represents its brand’s most direct contact with individual consumers. You can almost hear the sound of sacred cows being slaughtered.