Roper Corp., which has an almost 2,000-employee oven-making plant in LaFayette, Ga., could be sold as part of a reported General Electric plan to auction off its appliance division.

Stacy Mauer, president of the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, said has not heard the plant could be sold, but hopes it won’t. She called the company, which has 1,800 employees, “a great community partner.”

“Obviously they are important part of the work force in Walker County,” Ms. Mauer said. “If we were to lose 1,800 jobs, it would be devastating to the work force, but I won’t go as far as to say that is going to happen yet.”

A spokesman at the Roper Corp. said he had received a memo from GE asking that all media inquiries about the sale be directed to GE’s appliance division in Louisville, Ky. Kim Freeman, spokeswoman for GE’s appliance division, declined to comment.

“GE has not made an announcement, and we do not comment on speculation,” Ms. Freeman said.

Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskel said she is hopeful that the plant will continue to operate regardless of whether it is sold.

“It is the largest employer in Walker County,” she said. “I would hope that, if it is sold, whoever buys it would continue to operate it.”

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources, GE has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to run an auction for the appliance business, which could bring in between $5 billion and $8 billion.

The report of the possible sale comes amid pressure for GE Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt to restructure the company after first-quarter earnings showed a 6 percent drop in profits.

Roper generated more than $133 million dollars in sales during 2007, according to Hoover’s. But, Roper officials said they were forced to implement cost-cutting measures when energy costs rose 35 percent, more than the 15 percent they had budgeted.

In 2004, GE poured $100 million into the plant for research and producing new products, which included $29 million for the production of a Trivection Oven, which is designed to cook foods up to five times faster than a conventional oven.

GE is the second-largest appliance manufacturer in the U.S. garnering 20 percent of the market share. The company entered the appliance business in 1907.

Also in the area, Whirlpool in Cleveland, Tenn., has about 1,000 workers who make cooking products.